I love you, I won't kill you

The North Island of Coronado Island on the west coast of San Diego Bay, across the bay from San Diego International Airport.Since 1919, it has been placed under the jurisdiction of an important berth and fleet maintenance base of the US Navy.

After the maintenance base was officially named "San Diego Naval Base" in 1946, the North Island of Coronado Island, which was attached to the base, became the station of the Naval Air Station and the amphibious combat base.So far, some important naval facilities such as naval training centers, supply centers, fleet anti-submarine training centers, naval amphibious warfare training schools, and naval hospitals have been successively built around the North Island.

07年9月13日，下午4点40分，一架银灰色的、安装有2台涡扇发动机、采用流线形机身、外部轮廓很低，具有狭窄正面的AH-1W“超级眼镜蛇”攻击直升机朝着北岛腹地的美国海军空中导航地面大楼快速抵近。

From the appearance, this aircraft has a tandem pilot cockpit, two short wings on both sides are mounted with two rocket launchers and two 4-mounted missile launchers for "Hellfire" missiles, and they are installed on the lower part of the nose to rotate. An armed attack helicopter with an M197 three-tube 20mm "Gatling" rotary cannon in the turret has a very significant air fire support capability.

In fact, the reasons why the U.S. Marine Corps has always been fond of the "Cobra" series of attack helicopters are: first, its flight, combat performance and air firepower are not weaker than the U.S. Army's "Apache" gunships; It is suitable for deployment on US Navy ships with limited storage space; finally, it can adapt to day, night, severe weather and changeable marine climate, and the maintenance operation occupies a small area of ​​the ship's deck.Therefore, "Cobra" is irreplaceable in the Marine Corps.

Such an excellent gunship has not only appeared in cartoons and many film and television dramas, but also appeared as an attack helicopter of the Marine Corps in computer games.

When Amanda sat in the front cockpit for the first time, she immediately had the feeling of a Transformer "Optimus Prime" wearing a flying machine and fighting in the air.Although she is the co-pilot and fire controller (commonly known as "machine gunner") at this time, it does not prevent her from controlling the world's first anti-tank helicopter.

After the AH-1W completely stopped the mechanical movement of the main rotor and tail rotor on the tarmac, Amanda stretched out her hand and pushed open the front hatch that opened to the left.While removing the flight helmet, look around the helicopter.

Pilot Scott Hansen, a Marine Corps captain sitting in the main cockpit in the back row, pushed open the rear door that opened to the right, and said to Amanda when he took off his flight helmet, "Second Lieutenant, how do you feel today? ?”

Amanda turned around and glanced at the captain, "Sir, well, it's still going smoothly as usual."

At this time, the ground crew of the Naval Air Station had already pushed the boarding ladder and walked over.When the two pilots were back on the ground, Amanda looked back at the helicopter, which she hadn't yet fired a single shot or fired a missile.

Captain Hansen knew what she was thinking, and when he walked out of the tarmac with his helmet in his arms, he said, "Second Lieutenant, do you feel that just flying in the sky is not enjoyable?"

Amanda caught up and walked side by side with the captain, "Yes, sir. It has been more than two months since I came to San Diego, and I am just repeating Whitingfield's training work."

"Lieutenant, take it easy, I don't think it's all right. When I came here, I was just like you."

"Understood, sir. You mean, I don't have enough training time right now?"

Hansen smiled softly, "Remember, we are marines. We spend more time on the training ground just to be better and stronger than them, aren't we?"

Amanda twisted her mouth and smiled confidently, "Huh! Marine Corps pilots should be better than Navy, Air Force or Army pilots."

When he came out of the flight equipment room, Captain Hansen seemed to think of something and said, "Uh, there is a TV program this afternoon, I think you will be interested."

"Really? Is this show better than Oprah Winfrey's talk show?"

"Yeah, that's right, this person is the 43rd president of the United States, George Bush!"

When Amanda heard the president's name, she immediately became curious, "Sir, you mean Bush Jr.?"

"Well, at 9:[-] p.m. ET, he's going to be a guest host on CNN. While addressing the nation on TV, he's announcing his layoff plan."

"What? Is it true, sir?"

"Should be true. At least, that's how the Navy top brass in San Diego interpreted it."

Amanda was really happy, "So, how many US troops are you going to withdraw from Iraq, Your Excellency the President?"

Captain Hansen shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe the president wants the American soldiers there to go home for Christmas."

As early as April 4 this year, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that the service period of active US Army soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq will be extended from the original 11 months to 12 months.This is true for the Army, let alone the Marine Corps, one of the other services?

Eastern time was three hours later than western time, which was 6 p.m. local time in San Diego. Amanda and her fellow Marines watched CNN's "President's Show" at 9 p.m.

After watching the TV show, Amanda couldn't wait to make a call to Julie, "Hi, dear."

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing?"

"Well, going to dinner. I don't want dinner, though."

Julie laughed on the phone, "Giggle, do you want to eat or not?"

At this time, Amanda was on the way to the restaurant.Peeking at the fellow Navy and Marine Corps passing by, "Wait, I'm going to find a place where no one is around."

Amanda walked quickly to the parking lot next to the restaurant, "Have you watched CNN's TV program?"

Julie said softly, "No. However, Bush's voice really disturbed my Spanish learning time."

"Really? Well, look, the president promised to withdraw 5700 U.S. troops from Iraq by Christmas this year. And, by next July, the total number of troops withdrawn will be close to 7."

"Well, very good. Is he trying to say he's ready to end the war in Iraq?"

"It would be awesome if he actually said that."

After a few seconds of silence, Julie comforted Amanda, "Honey, I am very reluctant to see you fight a war that has nothing to do with us. So, do you know how many soldiers the Marine Corps has in Iraq?"

Amanda lowered her head halfway and whispered into the phone, "About 2? My dear, what I want to tell you is that maybe I will stay in San Diego from now on."

"Well, I really hope you stay in San Diego. It's just..." Julie didn't finish.

"I know, you want to say don't have too much hope." Amanda's mood returned to a calm state.

Julie still managed to laugh out loud, "It's okay, I will wait for you to come back."

Amanda's eyes were a little moist, "Thank you. As long as I can return to the United States alive, I will definitely find you."

9月15号，星期六下午5点，阿曼达得到了一个可以外出休假的命令。不过。这个命令的有效期只有12个小时，她得在16号的凌晨5点回到基地。

After passing through the Naval Medical Center and Bennington Memorial Oak Grove Park, it took Amanda less than 20 minutes to come to the famous local bustling commercial street - University Avenue.I parked my car across the street from a nearby 30th street called "The Pink Bar", and happily walked towards the bar.

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