Another WarBirds season has passed, and on the fifth anniversary of their founding, the Ferrets find themselves in a battle to save their virtual home from death due to indifference. The World War II Arena has hung on to life through the summer, at least it has done on Monday and Thursday nights when we go in there with the intention of stirring up trouble. The arena numbers have been tending upward lately, and it's to be hoped that the situation continues to improve through the fall. A big, Ferrety thank-you to everyone who makes the effort. The MF MO hasn't really changed with the introduction of these 'gorilla wars', but I do miss our occasional forays into the practice arena. Being the custodians of all that is noble and good can be a tough row to hoe.

Summer 2005 brought the long-awaited return of Lt. Troy, who emerged dripping but still defiant from his fall down-well. Meanwhile, longtime WarBirds junkie Dealr+ demonstrated his extremely good taste and joined the squad. On the downside, Maj. Andrew and 2ndLt. Joystc dropped their memberships owing to the poor attendance in the WW2 arena. I sure hope things pick up enough to make it fun again for you, gents. We'll miss you in the meantime. WO Mattke is AFK until January now that his AF unit has been sent off to sunny Iraq. Keep your head down, and your buttcrack free of sand. Meanwhile, we'll keep your ride polished and ready to roll for 'Aught Six.

My sincere thanks to Mattke and Lytnin who earned their six-month service awards this summer, to Gunsgt for his one-year star, to Meteor for his two-year star, to Andrew and Warone for their three-year stars, and especially to our beloved brass knobs Humble and Momo who've been with us for an incredible five years now. As have I.

All those service awards, combined with the lower arena numbers, resulted in promotions galore. Kavikk and Mattke made Warrant, Lytnin earned his butterbar, Invstr made full Looie, and Gunsgt became the Ferrets's first new Captain in more than a year-and-a-half. Gunsgt now takes his place on the squadron operations duty roster: his first squad night as O/O will be Thursday, 06 October.

2ndLt. Lytnin has been grinding it out hard all summer long, and he's collected the shiny gongs to prove it, earning two (count 'em) two Fighter Ace Awards for his l33t skillz. Dude: you scare me. Arena numbers bedamned, it's no easier finishing first nowadays than it ever was. One of these days (interest permitting) we'll host a duelling round-robin: I'll betcha our battling butterbar makes the team. This is the first time we've awarded this particular bauble, on accounta the GV scoring data finally has its own category and is no longer lumped in with the bomber and fighter scores.

In Squad Select Series action, the Ferrets finished up the Fleet Action: Coral Sea series and garnered a gong (the Japanese War Medal) for Elltee, who was credited with the sinking of the mighty Lexington. 'Twas a deadly series, to be sure: thanks for dying proud, gents: the Emperor really appreciates it. The series was ruled a draw. FACS was the last S3 of the season, with the summer being devoted to two test series: Knights and Fools was a three-frame DoA scenario which was immediately followed by Rommell Versus Patton, a giant two-frame tank battle in the microscopic Belgium terrain. Both events were declared Allied victories. The Ferrets are currently stuka-ing it out over the Channel in the first S3 of the new season, Five Days in July.

Twenty pilots raced in the ninth edition of the Ferrets' Challenge. 'Pentathlon' was something very different, featuring ground vehicles and ragwing aircraft for the first time. For his second back-to-back first-place finish, Drache of the Parrots won a free month of WB's courtesy of iEN, and of course the coveted Ferrets' Challenge Blue Ribbon and a fresh bucket of steam. Racing regulars Norron and Icepaq won ten and five-dollar account credits, respectively. Congratulations to everyone who took part, and thanks to Lytnin for flying the spotter jet, to =York= for reffing, and to SKYDVR for his ongoing help with these events.

In other news our favorite trainer pond scum, =York= and =Troy=, not content with their trainerly honors, have gone and joined the WarBirds Player Development Corps. Now Meteor can finally have his chopped, channeled, flame-jobbed Flyin' Fort!

I think our squad dues are all in this year, so expect a reminder to confirm your shirt size and mailing address with Momo - 'Aught Five T-shirts are in the works. You'll also be able to purchase additional shirts at a price to be determined. All this is happening just in time: I dunno about you guys, but the shirt I got back in 2003 is really starting to smell.

Col. H.C. Rana
Over and Out