Ron’s graduation from Navy boot camp at the Naval Recruit Training Center (NRTC) San Diego (1975).
A basket slap and subsequent explosive jettison of Ron’s canopy while conducting in-flight refueling off the coast of San Diego (June 1977).
Steve and Dad (Mel) perched on the bow of the USS Kitty Hawk. Photo credit: Ron Lambrecht (1981).
Ron is pictured seated in the S-3A SENSO seat, in his full flight equipment prior to flight.
Outstanding performance in the AW “A” school, Millington, Tennessee, led to accelerated advancement to Third Class Petty Officer (E-4). Six months later, Ron took and passed the Second-Class exam, becoming a Second Class Petty Officer fifteen months from the time he entered boot camp (December 1976).
Steve’s graduation from Navy boot camp at the Naval Recruit Training Center (NRTC), Great Lakes, Illinois (1984).
Steve and best friend Ben Nielsen saying their goodbyes at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, regional airport on July 1, 1985.
Ron received a commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy on June 8, 1979, from Aviation Officers Candidate School, Pensacola, Florida.
The Dilbert Dunker begins in the elevated position and, when released, accelerates down the rails, impacts the water, and rolls inverted. In order to pass the test, aspiring pilots must release their straps, exit the device, and reach the surface of the water unassisted. Photo courtesy of DVIDS.
An aerial starboard bow view of the guided missile destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7). (Photo Credit: Wiki Commons open source)
Steve (second from the left, next to the ninja) and nine of his cohorts with the cannonball appropriated for the scavenger hunt.
Visitor’s diagram of a portion of the Yard at USNA. The Ho Chi Minh Trail resides below the portion of the Yard in the bottom right third of the photo. The center showcase of the Yard is Tecumseh Court, adjacent to the entrance to Bancroft Hall and the rotunda, located in the extreme bottom right corner of the diagram.
Inset: Satellite photo of College (Dorsey) Creek and Decatur Street Bridge. The A-4 Skyhawk (Scooter) is pictured in the top-left corner.
The kiddy tractor pull competition is a popular event at Ivanhoe’s Polska Kielbasa Days celebration. The size of the sledge alone has to be intimidating to a seven-year-old!
Steve and Ron at the parade and tractor pull. Ivanhoe Polish Days, August 2021.
Steve graduates from Annapolis, receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. Certificates were presented by Admiral Hill (Superintendent) and The Honorable Richard Cheney (Secretary of Defense).
Steve takes a ride in the helo dunker at NAS Pensacola, Florida (1990).
Steve next to a T-34C Mentor at Whiting Field, Florida (1990).
View of the aircraft carrier landing zone from astern the ship. The Fresnel Lens with centered “meatball” can be seen along the left edge of the flight deck. Parked left of the landing zone are two F/A-18 Hornets and one F-14 Tomcat. Along the right side, from near to far, are an A-6 Intruder, an EA-6B Prowler, a Tomcat, an E-2C Hawkeye, two Tomcats, and two S-3 Vikings. Vulture’s Row faces left from the superstructure on the right. (Photo Credit: Wiki Commons open source)
USS Enterprise and an AEGIS escort ship UNREPPING and VERTREPPING. Ron served as an enlisted S-3 AW on the Enterprise (Photo from DVIDS, Open Source).
NAS Cubi Point Officers’ Club, Philippines. When the naval station at Cubi Point closed, the club was considered to be so iconic that it was meticulously disassembled and reassembled in the National Naval Aviation Museum, NAS Pensacola, Florida, where it resides today. (Photo from DVIDS, Open Source)
Photos taken by Steve from his T-2C during carrier qualifications. Top: marshaling overhead prior to commencing. Bottom: on the deck of the USS Forrestal.
Steve on the wing of a tactical maneuvering sortie in a TA-4J over southern Texas.
First Lieutenant Steve Lambrecht on the day he received his Naval Aviator Wings of Gold at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas (1992). Steve was winged with a class of nineteen fellow pilots shortly after this photo was taken.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Photo Credit: Photographer’s Mate Second Class Miguel A. Contreras, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
A view of the aircraft carrier landing zone at night, as seen through the heads-up display (HUD) of an F/A-18 Hornet. The vertical row of lights directly below the landing zone are located on the stern of the ship. The two lights forming a chevron to the bottom left of the HUD are angle of attack lights. A matching indicator is located on the nose-gear and is visible to the LSO. In this photo, the pilot is fast, and if left uncorrected, will likely result in either a bolter or a wave-off. (Photo from DVIDS, Open Source)
An F/A-18 is transonic as it expends a flare. (Photo from DVIDS, Open Source)
