Summary
"Dink-Gadink" is the sound that the minute hand makes on all of the clocks at the US Naval Academy when it clicks to the next digit. Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy live their lives by those very Dink-Gadinks.
Based on real events and personal experiences—yet presented as comical military fiction — Dink-Gadink depicts a week in the life of seven Plebes at the U.S. Naval Academy. Struggling to survive in an institution that overwhelms them on a daily basis, these seven Plebes are unique in their personalities and goals.
Told from a humorous perspective in vivid detail, Dink-Gadink boldly takes the reader inside the hallowed walls of the U.S. Naval Academy. It depicts the hilarious and mischievous escapades of Homecoming week, leading up to a climactic football game against Air Force on Saturday. Finally, on a lazy Sunday morning, it reveals a priceless lesson about the true meaning of real-world friendships that are formed in a crucible like the U.S. Naval Academy. Dink-Gadink is as close as any reader will ever come to actually being a Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy.
About the Author
John M. Scanlan was born in Columbus, Ohio, on August 8, 1959. After growing up in rural, southern Ohio as the oldest of eight children, he graduated from Logan Elm High School as an honor student with letters in football and wrestling.
John graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, on May 25, 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a varsity letter in Rugby. He accepted a commission into the United States Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant.
Scanlan reported to the Marine Corps Basic School in July of 1983. Upon graduation six months later, he reported to flight training at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. He received his wings as a Naval Flight Officer in April of 1984.
That same month, he reported to the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona, for follow-on training in the F-4S Phantom II fighter attack jet. In October of 1985, Scanlan was designated a Radar Intercept Officer in the F-4S.
Second Lieutenant Scanlan was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from 1985 to 1989. There, First Lieutenant Scanlan amassed approximately one thousand hours in the F-4S and completed two overseas deployments to Iwakuni, Japan, with VMFA-212. The historical second deployment was the last one ever in history for the F-4S. Lastly, he was designated as an Air Combat Tactics Instructor, and a Weapons and Tactics Instructor in the F-4S while with VMFA-212.
In October of 1988, Captain Scanlan reported to the First Battalion of the Third Marine Regiment in Hawaii to serve as a Forward Air Controller, and then later as the Battalion Air Officer. There, Captain Scanlan participated in an overseas deployment to Camp Hansen, Okinawa.
In March of 1990, Captain Scanlan reported to the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, California, for transition training into the new F-18D Hornet fighter attack jet. After being designated as a Weapons and Sensors Officer, he joined VMFA-121 at El Toro to accept the new jets.
With VMFA-121, he deployed to Shaik Isa Airfield, Bahrain, for Operation Desert Storm. In February of 1991, while flying a combat mission over Kuwait, Captain Scanlan was in an F-18D that was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Upon returning to the United States, Scanlan was designated as an Air Combat Tactics Instructor, and a Weapons and Tactics Instructor in the F-18D. Furthermore, he attended the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as Top Gun. He went on to accumulate approximately one thousand hours in the F-18D, and participated in the first ever, overseas deployment of the F-18D to Iwakuni.
In the summer of 1993, Captain Scanlan accepted orders to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina. There, he joined VMFA-224 in their acceptance of the new F-18D, and made two overseas deployments to Aviano Air Base, Italy, in support of the NATO no-fly zone imposed over Bosnia-Herzegovinia. While in Beaufort, Scanlan was designated as a Night Tactics Instructor, and accrued approximately one thousand more hours in the F-18D.
In July of 1996, Major Scanlan, became a student at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia. After graduation in May of 1997, he served for three years as the Joint Doctrine Officer in the Doctrine Division of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico.
In 2000, after completing refresher training in the F-18D, Lieutenant Colonel Scanlan became the Executive Officer for VMFA-332 in Beaufort.
Upon completion of that assignment, he joined the staff of Marine Aircraft Group Thirty-one in Beaufort; where he was subsequently sent to the Marine Central Command in Tampa, Florida, as a future operations planning officer for combat operations in Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Colonel Scanlan retired from the Marine Corps in 2003, and commenced a second career as a writer. He currently resides on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
