
Show Notes
This week kicks off with Kemo back in the saddle, and it goes sideways immediately!
Actually, this one starts fast. No warmup. No easing in. Just straight into stories that make you stop and go, wait… what?
Kemo’s back. And if you’ve heard him before, you already know this is going to be ridiculous. If you haven’t—well, buckle up. This is one of those episodes where the stories don’t just escalate… they stack.
First, we get into how his name came to be. Sounds simple, right? It’s not. Then somehow we’re talking about Marine Corps commandants, open bars, and a story that absolutely should not exist—but does.
Furthermore, things pivot hard into airline life. Boeing vs Airbus logic. MD-11 decisions. The kind of stuff that sounds boring—until it isn’t. Because the real question becomes: what happens when automation replaces instinct?
And then… carrier ops.
Night landings. Yellow shirts. That moment where you’re taxiing and thinking, “this feels wrong,” but also knowing it’s exactly right. Consequently, the conversation shifts into something deeper—manual flying skills vs modern systems.
Then comes the F-35 discussion.
This is where it gets interesting. Helmet tech. Sensor fusion. Seeing through the jet. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s not. The real debate? Whether pilots are gaining capability… or losing something critical.
Meanwhile, Kemo’s stories keep landing like punches. Red trucks. Target talk-ons. Situations where you’re listening and thinking, “there’s no way this ends well…”
But it does. Somehow.
Eventually.
And just when you think it’s wrapping up, we detour into three-eyed turtles, legacy, and a closing stretch that feels like the perfect bar story ending—half reflection, half chaos.
So yeah… this one’s a ride.
More from So There I Was
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Navy P-3 pilot Derek "DA" Adametz beat a collapsed lung and Hodgkin's lymphoma, then fought the waiver board all the way to squadron command.
F-100 pilot Ike flew 195 combat missions with an iron sight and nerves of steel. He takes us from night close air support to a 50-pound-fuel landing to the 1986 Libya raid.
Retired Marine Lt. Col. Tim "Monk" Miller nearly punched out mid-nap over Ramadi, then built the Strike Fighter League, where guns are where it's at.