A Collection of Coincidences

     Twenty eight years ago I left Nashua for a substantial promotion in Greenlawn, Long Island.  When I returned to Nashua five years later, I became the Program Manager for the Comm/Nav/IFF (CNI) antennas for the F-22.  Working for me was a bright, energetic, strong-minded young engineer with a newly minted Masters in microwave engineering.  It wasn't long before I made her my lead engineer despite the fact that she was the youngest of the group.  She vindicated my judgement in spades and twenty years later became the VP of Engineering for the BAE Systems' electronic warfare business.  Now she is moving to Greenlawn to become the VP/GM of BAE Systems' ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) division with about a thousand employees worldwide.  She's the same age I was when I made the move, AND her deputy is a young lady I worked with in Greenlawn who had just started there with a new MBA when I arrived.
     Last evening Durelle and I went to their (to include husband, Bob Banks) house for a fine supper and enjoyable visit.

     As many of you know, we had Samoyeds before we switched to golden retrievers.  Below is a picture of Durelle with their Sammy, appropriately named Sammy.

     Another young lady from that F-22 crew of a couple of decades ago was Jill Shea.  Leslie invited Jill and her husband, Fred, to join us.

     For several years that crew shared great accomplishments and great frustrations with equal perseverance.  While falling well short of a combat environment, we "had each other's back" through some tough stretches.  We came away with the camaraderie of those who have shared difficult environments.  We wish Leslie good fortune with her new challenges.