Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro North Carolina – Part 2

Two weeks after Alec was born, I deployed for the first of my 6 (update: # 7 is coming soon) deployments. I would go to a base in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert traveling from NC to Baltimore, MD, though Portugal, Germany and into Saudi Arabia . Prince Sultan Air Base—known as PSAB, home to the 4404th Wing (Provisional), 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing was located 50 miles southeast of Riyadh, the capitol, and housed F-15C, F-15E, F-16, KC-135, KC-10, RC-135, E-3, U-2, C-130, EC-130, HC-130, and C-21 aircraft, along with British Tornados and French Mirages to provide fighter, electronic combat, reconnaissance, command and control, air refueling, search and rescue, and cargo/troop transport capabilities. I would spend the next 129 days at this base outside of the city of Al Kharj from July to November supporting Operation Southern Watch, monitoring and controlling the no-fly zone south of the 33rd Parallel in southern and south-central Iraq during the period following the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

Prince Sultan came to be following the Khobar Towers bombing, a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex used as quarters for Coalition forces who were assigned to Operation Southern Watch. A truck bomb was detonated adjacent to Building #131, an eight-story structure housing members of the United States Air Force’s 4404th Wing (Provisional), primarily from a deployed rescue squadron and deployed fighter squadrons. In all, 19 U.S. Air Force personnel and a Saudi local were killed in this attack on June 25^th, 1996. As a result of the terrorist attack, U.S. and Coalition military operations at Khobar and Dhahran were subsequently relocated to Prince Sultan Air Base. American, British, and French military operations would continue at PSAB until late 2003, when French forces withdrew, and American and British operations shifted to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. U.S. officials transferred control of portions of Prince Sultan Air Base to Saudi officials at a ceremony on Aug. 26, 2003. The ceremony also marked the inactivation of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing. The base was home to about 60,000 coalition forces during the seven years the base was in operation supporting Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. At the height of OIF, there were more than 5,000 troops and about 200 coalition aircraft based there.

Prince Sultan Air Base’s Boot Hill Cemetery was a continued POL tradition that quietly attracted attention of its own. It was even a stop on the tours for some of the distinguished visitors passing through. Located off the beaten path in the fuels main bulk storage area, Boot Hill Cemetery was exactly that, a cemetery for boots. Local legend had it that if fuels troops buried their boots there before leaving PSAB, they’d never have to return. With the prospect of not returning to PSAB on the line, superstitions about Boot Hill ran high, and one glance told visitors that a lot of care had gone into constructing and maintaining the area. Although the exact origin of the cemetery is questionable, it is known that members of the 4404th Wing Fuels Management Flight constructed the original back when the 4404th was located in Dhahran Air Base. When PSAB ceased operations, Boot Hill was carefully dismantled and moved to Al Udied Air Base. The “new” Boot Hill was set up and continues to serve there today, as a monument to over 20 years of fuels Airmen serving in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Tradition now holds that you sign your boots, date them, and toss them. If you ring it [on the rebar] on the first try, the legend is that you won’t get orders to come back to “The Rock!” And so, the legacy continues, one tattered boot at a time.

I enjoy historical events at the bases that I have been stationed at. Here’s one that happened in the early 1960’s that wasn’t completely revealed until 2013. This accident could have completely changed the landscape of Eastern North Carolina and would have had long lasting consequences on the entire east coast of the United States. Read on!

On January 24^th, 1961 an Air Force aircraft crashed just outside of Goldsboro, North Carolina. A B-52 Stratofortress carrying two 3–4-megaton Mark 39 nuclear bombs broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload in the process. The aircraft, a B-52G, was based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. Around midnight on January 23^rd–24^th 1961, the bomber had a rendezvous with a tanker for aerial refueling. During the hook-up, the tanker crew advised the B-52 aircraft commander, Major Walter Scott Tulloch, that his aircraft had a fuel leak in the right wing. The refueling was aborted, and ground control was notified of the problem. The aircraft was directed to assume a holding pattern off the coast until the majority of fuel was consumed. However, when the B-52 reached its assigned position, the pilot reported that the leak had worsened and that 37,000 pounds (5,500 gallons) of fuel had been lost in three minutes. The aircraft was immediately directed to return and land at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. As it descended through 10,000 feet on its approach to the airfield, the pilots were no longer able to keep the aircraft in stable descent and lost control of it. The pilot in command ordered the crew to eject, which they did at 9,000 feet. Five men bailed out and landed safely. Another bailed out but did not survive the landing, and two died in the crash. The third pilot of the bomber, Lt. Adam Mattocks, is the only man known to have successfully bailed out of the top hatch of a B-52 without an ejection seat. Although the crew’s final view of the aircraft was in an intact state with its payload of two Mark 39 thermonuclear bombs on board, it broke apart before impact, releasing the bombs. The wreckage of the aircraft covered a 2-square-mile area of tobacco and cotton farmland at Faro, about 12 miles north of Goldsboro. Information newly declassified in 2013 showed that one of the bombs came very close to detonating. The two 3–4-megaton Mark 39 nuclear bombs separated from the gyrating aircraft as it broke up between 1,000 and 2,000 feet. Three of the four arming mechanisms on one of the bombs activated, causing it to execute many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as charging the firing capacitors and deploying a 100-foot-diameter parachute. Although the bomb was partially armed when it left the aircraft, an unclosed high-voltage switch had prevented it from fully arming. In a now-declassified 1969 report, entitled “Goldsboro Revisited”, written by Parker F. Jones, a supervisor of nuclear safety at Sandia National Laboratories, Jones said that “one simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe.” In 2011, Lt. Jack Revelle, the bomb disposal expert responsible for disarming the device, claimed “we came damn close” to a nuclear detonation that would have completely changed much of eastern North Carolina. He also said the size of each bomb was more than 250 times the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb, large enough to create a 100% kill zone within a radius of 8.5 miles.

I arrived at Shady-J as an Airman Basic on November 27^th, 1996. I was promoted to Airman on January 31^st, 1997, Airman First Class on November 30^th, 1997 and promoted to Senior Airman on July 31^st, 1999. I left Seymour Johnson Air Force Base on to the next adventure on May 22^nd, 2000. I would call Aviano Air Base in Northern Italy home for the next four years. The journey continues…..

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina – Part 1

Here we go again! I promise, I’m trying to get better at this; but until then, I hope you enjoy my little stroll down memory lane. As a recap, I started this blog just over a year ago to record my recollections on the different places I have ventured to during my military career. There are some big changes on the horizon, but that’s for a later discussion. I promise, we’ll get there…..it might just take a little time!

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base was established five months after the United States entered World War II when the War Department approved the establishment of a technical school two miles southeast of Goldsboro, North Carolina. Seymour Johnson Field was activated on June 12^th, 1942, as Headquarters, Technical School, Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. The base is named in honor of U.S. Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a native of Goldsboro. Johnson, a test pilot, was killed in an aircraft crash near Norbeck, Md., March 5^th, 1941. Seymour Johnson Field was deactivated in May 1946. The base was reactivated as a Tactical Air Command base on April 1^st 1956 and has been home to B-52 bombers, KC-10 tankers from Strategic Air Command and F-4 and F-16 fighters from the Michigan Air National Guard. “Shady-J” is now the home of the 4^th Fighter Wing, known as the Fourth but First, along with the 916^th Air Refueling Wing flying the mighty F-15E Strike Eagles and KC-135 Stratotankers.

I showed up as a new Airman fresh out of my technical training to my new base in Goldsboro, North Carolina as a Fuels Operator; a place I would spend seven years at over two different assignments. I arrived at Seymour Johnson for the first time in late November of 1996. I remember the time frame because of the interaction I had with my first Chief there. Chief Master Sergeant Thomas Leohr to me was the example of what a Chief should be. Now I could be wrong; I have heard from time to time that there are Chiefs and other Senior Non-Commissioned Officers who tend to favor their young Airmen over that of their seasoned leaders. But from what I saw of Chief Leohr, he was genuinely interested and cared about every individual in his organization. He made it a point to remember all the flight’s members first name, nearly a hundred of us. There are times I have to think really hard about a troops’ last name even now, so to me, that amazed me. I remember him opening his home and inviting my wife and I over for Thanksgiving, though for the life of me, I don’t remember why we didn’t go. Maybe we didn’t want to impose, I’m not sure. But he genuinely cared about all of us in my mind. I remember him being set in his ways and traditions as well though. I recall a conversation he had with us that the squadron commander wanted him to update his uniform with the newly designed stripes even though they weren’t going to be mandatory until well after he retired. He stated that these were the rank insignia that he grew up with; mind you, this man was a 30 year military man who started in the late 60s! He said they were the stripes he’d retire with, there was no way in hell he was gonna change just because his boss wanted him to do so. What were they gonna do, fire him?!! To me, that’s a Chief; he didn’t waiver in his beliefs, he stood up for and truly knew and cared for his people, all the while ensuring the mission happened.

I remember arriving and thinking to myself that the area was a mess with downed trees everywhere. I would soon find out that hurricanes were the norm in that area and I would have my chance to experience this great force of nature. A late storm, Hurricane Fran, had come up through the Atlantic and hit North Carolina as a category 3 hurricane, making land fall near Cape Fear on September 6^th of that year. By the time it roared through Goldsboro the following day, it was a tropical storm that dumped upwards of 16 inches of rain. The total damage in North Carolina amounted to over $2.4 billion. This was the second hurricane to hit North Carolina that year. The first was Hurricane Bertha, which hit the state a few weeks prior. I would go through another set of large storms finishing up with Hurricane Floyd in 1999. North Carolina received the brunt of the storm’s destruction. The hurricane produced torrential rainfall in Eastern North Carolina, adding more rain to an area already hit by Hurricane Dennis just weeks earlier. The rains caused widespread flooding over a period of several weeks; nearly every river basin in the eastern part of the state exceeded 500-year flood levels including the Neuse River that surrounds Goldsboro.

My oldest son Alec was born in North Carolina in May of 1998. I remember working B-shift and my wife calling and telling me I should come home. I remember this being around 6pm. We were up all night; Melissa had a rough night for sure. Just when we thought the contractions were where they needed to be to go to the hospital, the doctor would tell her lie on the other side among other things, and the contractions would go on a crazy schedule once again – we were left to wait longer. Finally, early in the morning we decided to make the half hour drive to the hospital in Kinston. When we arrived and were settled in, it was apparent that something wasn’t right. As soon as the nurse started feeling around, she just had this look. Within a half hour, she was prepped, and Alec was born via emergency C-section because he’d been breech all this time. Had we only known that hours earlier! At 9 pounds, 6 and a half ounces, this kid was a ham! He has since grown to tower over me. At 6’ 2” and 200+ pounds, I have no choice but to look up to him! Alec is now 20 years old and a great young man who I’m very proud of!

I’ve met so many great people, many of whom I keep in contact today. Though I can’t attempt to name them all, two have stood out and made deep impacts to my career. First, Adam Mulholland, even though he cross-trained on us, I have run into him numerous times over my career and regard his friendship very highly. I also wouldn’t be here without retired TSgt Max Stansell. I respect this man as a great mentor and strength as to where I have gotten thus far – he truly cared about his Airmen; he took us under his wings like a father figure. I not only came to him when I needed to work on my Jeep, but he was there to guide this young teenager to do the right things, even when no one was looking. I appreciate all the friendships that I have made throughout my career; these two are certainly the beginning and I’m so very grateful for those who I have crossed paths with through the years.

To Be Continued…….

Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas – Technical Training

Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas – Technical Training

So, here we go again! The last week of basic came and went. My wife and parents came to San Antonio to watch me graduate basic training. Even though I still had to stay in my dress uniform the entire time, it was a welcome relief to get off base and into civilization after six weeks being confined to my small part of Lackland Air Force Base. We were able to check out San Antonio; down to the River Walk, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and The Alamo. The time came to say goodbye once again, and I boarded a bus for a six or so hour ride up to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas on the Texas/Oklahoma border. I don’t remember much about the ride up besides being able to finally relax. I do remember a movie playing on the bus, Full Metal Jacket, how ironic!

So, as I get into how I chose my job that has spanned these 22 years in the Air Force, we rolled into Sheppard AFB on a warm August Saturday afternoon. I initially joined the Air Force by entering in as an “Open Mechanical” enlistee. I would recommend anyone coming into the military to join with a guaranteed job depending on ASVAB scores. My scores were average at best as I didn’t study for this test. When I was a junior in high school, we were led to a room with a few military recruiters who administered the ASVAB to us all. Now, you can retake this test to better your chances for desirable positions within the military. I didn’t do this! I joined the Air Force because my father served in the 70s and because the Air Force recruiter was the first to call. Back to how I picked my job – plain and simple, in basic training, they gave me a list of positions I could sign on with. Once again, I don’t recommend this, but my first though? How long is the additional training? As I’m looking through this list, here’s my top three…..Entomology, better known as Pest Management – 4 week course, Fuels – 6 week course, F-16 Crew Chief, 12 week course. I was picked up as a Fuels Apprentice and though it worked out for the best, it certainly wasn’t the best way to look at getting a job! But here I was, a 19-year-old young man, fresh on his own, looking for a job that would last the next 4 years and then I’d be off to some other adventure once separating from the Air Force afterwards. Here I am, 22 years later and I must say, I love my career choice; the places I’ve been, the things I’ve done, the people I have worked with and for and those I’ve had the honor mentoring – I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Let me tell you the book answer about what my job truly entails.

Air Force Enlisted Job – Fuels – 2F0X1

Even with all of our advanced technology, our aircraft simply cannot operate without fuel. It is the job of Fuels specialists to manage every aspect of the refueling of every aircraft on the flight line. More than handling jet fuel, these professionals are also responsible for operating the vehicles, equipment and storage facilities that are essential to the refueling operation while also ensuring the compliance of all safety regulations while handling these volatile liquids.

Specialty Summary: Maintains and operates fuels and cryogenic facilities and equipment. Receives, stores, and issues petroleum, cryogenics, and alternative fuel products. Performs quality analysis on petroleum and cryogenics products. Performs preventative and operator maintenance on fuel dispensing vehicles and handling equipment, fuel dispensing systems, and conducts operator inspection and maintenance on facilities. Prepares receipt, inventory, and issue documents to support fuel and cryogenic product accountability. Operates specialized fuels vehicles and support equipment.

Read more about it here:

http://www.foreverwingman.com/2f0x1/

As I progressed through the course as a future fuels specialist, I was notified of my first basing assignment. Mine, along with a handful of others from my class were given the news that we would be heading to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Before I get into where this journey would take me on my first assignment, let me give you a very brief history of Sheppard AFB.

Named in honor of Senator Morris Sheppard, former chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, Sheppard Air Force Base was activated Oct. 17, 1941, and provided aircrew and aircraft mechanics training during World War II. Today, Sheppard is the largest and most diverse training base in Air Education and Training Command–the only Air Force base that is home to both technical and flight training. The Fuels training course was previously at Chanute Air Force base in Illinois until 1992.

Seymour Johnson, home of the F-15E Strike Eagle, here we come……..

Air Force R-11 Refueler – this would become my first office!

Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas – The Gateway to the Air Force

Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas – The Gateway to the Air Force

PUT YOUR BAGS DOWN! PICK YOUR BAGS UP! PUT THEM DOWN! DID I SAY DROP THEM? LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN. PICK YOUR BAGS UP; PUT YOUR BAGS DOWN!!

This was the start of my journey in the United States Air Force on a hot night in July of 1996 as I stepped off a bus on Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I can still hear Staff Sergeant Jennifer Chinn’s voice commanding us where to go and what to do. This was the cruelest woman I have ever known! To say that I felt way out of place as a 19 year old kid from a small town in Northern Michigan was an understatement! However, SSgt Chin started the process to break down a group of 50+ “kids” and build us up as “men” in the Greatest Air Force this world has ever and will ever know.

My time in basic military training (BMT) was tough; I’m not going to lie. I was far away from home, a newly wed as well. I missed my wife – I even missed my mom! I remember my first call back home. We were told to keep it brief; tell them we were ok and to give our address. I slipped in that I didn’t want to be here anymore – I wanted so desperately to just go home! I’m glad I struck through the mental toughness, the physical exhaustion that would become the next six weeks of my life. The decision to join something greater than me has undoubtedly given me heartache; but it has also allowed me to see the world and experience many things that I wouldn’t have had I stayed in that small town life that I was so accustomed to. Ellsworth, Michigan; a town of approximately 1,000 residents; a graduating class of just 26 of us, will always be home, but will never be a place I am a resident of again. My dad was in the Air Force for 7 years. I’ve had aunts and uncles who have served in the Marines, Army, and Navy. Military life was an easy choice. I’m not going to bore you with my struggles through BMT, the fact that I fought to do enough push-ups to graduate, or the aspect that I had the best “extra duty” in my flight. While others were pulling KP (kitchen patrol) or doing everyone’s laundry, I was marching the new troops back and forth to Wilford Hall for sick call – as they visited the doctors for various reasons, I sat in the waiting room watching tv and enjoying people being nice to me for those few moments a day! I do want to tell you a little history about the place that started my career into the United States Air Force career. I will continue to do this with each base I have had the privilege of working at. In all, I have lived on or near seven different bases (well, one of them twice) and have been deployed to another six bases (once again, one of them twice). It’s been an honor and privilege to serve my country, though it’s rapidly coming to a close. So let’s go, this is Lackland Air Force Base.

Lackland is best known for its role in being the sole location for U.S. Air Force enlisted Basic Military Training (BMT) for the active duty Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. BMT is organized into 9 basic training squadrons, each with their own training site on the base. The squadrons are aligned under the 737th Training Group and is known as the “Gateway to the Air Force.” Lackland AFB hosts a collection of vintage military aircraft on static display on its parade grounds, including a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, B-29 Superfortress, C-121 Constellation, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-25 Mitchell.

Construction on Lackland Air Force Base began on June 15, 1941, and was originally part of Kelly Field. One year later, it became an independent organization—the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center. From its acronym (SAACC), many people called the base sack, sack-c, or, less affectionately, sad sack. The War Department gave it its namesake on July 11, 1947, by naming the base for Brigadier General Frank D. Lackland. General Lackland entered the Army as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in 1911 after serving in the District of Columbia National Guard for six years. He transferred to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps during the First World War and, after completing his training as an air officer, was executive officer at Kelley Field and the School of Aerial Gunnery, Selfridge Field, Michigan. He served as commandant of the Air Forces advanced flying school at Kelly Field, Texas, as air officer for the Eighth Corps Area at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and retired as the commanding officer of the First Wing at March Field, California after 31 years in the Army. He passed away at Walter Reed Hospital on April 27, 1943 at the age of 58(a mere two years after he retired) and is buried in Section 4 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Lackland didn’t always have the distinction of being the only Air Force Basic Training facility. It shared Basic Military Training status temporarily with Sampson Air Force Base during the Korean War and Amarillo Air Force Base during the Vietnam War until Amarillo AFB’s closure in 1968. As a result of the Korean War, training populations at Lackland soared to 28 basic military training squadrons (BMTS) within the 3700th Military Training Wing. Temporary facilities, to include 129 “I dormitories”, were hastily erected as a quick fix to replace tents cities housing recruits. In 1955 the number of BMTS was reduced to 16, where it remained for the next two decades. The Vietnam War buildup necessitated a “split-phase” training from August 1965 to April 1966. This program provided for 22 days at Lackland and 8 days at a technical school, with directed duty assignees receiving the full 30 days at Lackland. When BMT returned to a single phase on April 1, 1966, it was briefly cut back to 24 days from April to July 1966. After that, basic training stabilized at a length of six weeks. This was the same length as the program used by the Army Air Forces when Lackland opened as a basic training base 20 years before. In October 2008 the BMT was expanded an extra two weeks to implement more air base defense training as well as other rudimentary skills. The BMT course of training is at 8 1⁄2 weeks.

Lackland gained a flying mission when adjacent Kelly Air Force Base closed in 2001. The two-mile-long runway is now a joint-use facility between Lackland AFB and the city of San Antonio. The portion of the former Kelly AFB still under USAF control is now known as Lackland AFB/Kelly Field Annex and its permanently based flying units include the Air Force Reserve Command’s (AFRC) 433d Airlift Wing, an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit flying the C-5 Galaxy and the 149th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard, an AETC-gained unit flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The civilian side of the former Kelly AFB is now known as Port San Antonio and hosts numerous major DoD defense contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, many of which directly or indirectly support major overhaul and repair of military aircraft previously conducted, and in facilities previously occupied, by the Air Force. In winter of 2009 it was decided to combine all the military bases in San Antonio into one large base named Joint Base San Antonio. Lackland now consists of the Kelly airstrip, Security Hill, main base Lackland, and the old Medina officer training base now named Medina/Lackland Training Annex. With the exception of a few buildings most of the old Kelly Air Base including the housing has been turned over to civilian jurisdiction. Currently Lackland is one of the most heavily populated bases in the Air Force. With a daily population of more than 33,000, these Airmen and civilians work and train in 1,799 buildings consisting of over 13 million square feet. There are 177 miles of roads to access the 8,881 acres that make up Lackland Air Force Base. Today, our Airmen are brought onto Lackland Air Force Base and are entrusted to Military Training Instructors to provide orderly transition from civilian to military life. Recruits are trained in the fundamental skills necessary to be successful in an Expeditionary Air Force. This includes basic war skills, military discipline, physical fitness, drill and ceremonies, Air Force core values and a comprehensive range of subjects relating to Air Force life. More than 7 million young men and women have entered Air Force basic military training since February 4, 1946, when the training mission was moved to Lackland from Harlingen Air Force Base in Harlingen, Texas. As the “The Gateway to the Air Force,” approximately 35,000 recruits are trained each year! This is where “The Journey,” my journey of 21 years and counting started on July 31, 1996. I’ve never had the chance to thank that harsh woman; but thank you from the bottom of my heart, Jennifer Chinn, wherever you are!

Of course……The Journey Continues!!

The Journey Starts – A life in the Air Force

The Journey Starts – A life in the Air Force

Here we go!  I just first want to introduce myself.  My name is Lee Watros; I’m 40 years old as of the start of this writing.  Today, 31 July 2017 marks 21 years in the United States Air Force.  To me, that’s crazy to think about.  I joined as a 19 year old kid who thought he would have a degree after that first four year enlistment and get out of the way.  Off to do bigger and better things you know?  Little did I know at the time, but I wouldn’t take a single college class that first four years!  Sure, I accumulated quite a few college credits through professional military schools and by testing out of college classes, but what an adventure I started 21 years ago!  I am currently a Senior Master Sergeant assigned as the Fuels Superintendent at Nellis AFB just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.  

This is my story, one that I can pass on to my children and hopefully grandchildren as I get older.  I want to give my perspective on particular locations, situations, and experiences I’ve had through my military career.  As much as I can, I am going to start at the beginning and attempt to rack my brain for details.  Along the way, I’ll dig through old performance reports and newspaper clippings that I have been in from time to time to aid my memory.  For this first taste of my life, I just wanted to give a quick synopsis of where I’ve been throughout the years.  From this, you will have an idea of what I’m going to talk about next!  Please enjoy and as we start, I will leave you with this.  I have enjoyed every single place I have been.  I now have the ability and pleasure to mold younger guys and gals into great adults.  Hopefully they will look back and if nothing more, remember there were people who cared.  I will attempt to name names and stories about people who cared about me throughout my career.  So as I said, here we go! 

Initial Training and Assignments

Boarded a bus in Traverse City, Michigan – 30 July 1996

Boarded a plane in Detroit, Michigan; landed in San Antonio, Texas – 31 July 1996

The Journey Starts – Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas – 31 July – 16 Sept 1996

Tech School – Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas – 17 Sept – 4 Nov 1996

Recruiters Assistance Program/Leave – Traverse City, Michigan - 5 Nov – 26 Nov 1996

1^st Assignment – Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, North Carolina – 27 Nov 1996 to 21 May 2000

2^nd Assignment – Aviano Air Base, Aviano, Italy – 22 May 2000 to 7 May 2004

3^rd Assignment – Grand Forks AFB, Grand Forks, North Dakota – 8 May 2004 to 23 May 2009

4^th Assignment – Eielson AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska – 24 May 2009 to 4 June 2013

5^th Assignment – Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, North Carolina – 5 June 2013 to 5 Oct 2015

6^th Assignment – Daegu AB, Daegu, South Korea – 6 Oct 2015 to 22 Nov 2016

7^th Assignment – Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada – 23 Nov 2016 to 31 Oct 2019 (RETIRED)

Major Deployments

1- Prince Sultan AB, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia – 1998 for 129 days supporting Operation Southern Watch

2 - Prince Sultan AB, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia – 2002/2003 for 147 days supporting Operation Southern Watch

3 - Diego Garcia AB, British Indian Ocean Territory – 2005 for 138 days supporting Operation Enduring Freedom

4 - Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan – 2008 for 124 days supporting Operation Enduring Freedom

5 - Ali AB (Talil), Nasiriyah, Iraq – 2010 for 198 days supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom

6 - Isa AB, Manama, Bahrain – 2012 for 180 days supporting Operation Enduring Freedom

7 - Al Udeid AB, Qatar - 2018/2019 for 192 days supporting Operation Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom's Sentinel

Temporary Duty Locations

Eglin AFB, Valparaiso, Florida – 1997 for 18 days

Lakenheath AB, Suffolk, United Kingdom – 2000 for 9 days

Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas – 2000 for 16 days

Pentagon, Washington DC – 2001 for 6 days

Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas – 2002 for 15 days

Veric, Norcross, Georgia – 2004 for 19 days

Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Michigan – 2006 for 6 days

Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas – 2006 for 27 days

Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Michigan – 2006 for 5 days

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Trenton, New Jersey– 2007 for 8 days

Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi – 2007 for 47 days

Veric, Norcross, Georgia – 2010 for 7 days

Misawa AB, Japan – 2011 for 13 days

Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas – 2013 for 21 days

Pope AFB, North Carolina – 2014 for 2 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2015 for 12 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2015 for 2 days

Osan AB, Pyongtaek City, South Korea – 2015 for 2 days

Suwon AB, South Korea – 2015 for 2 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 3 days

Suwon AB, South Korea – 2016 for 1 day

Suwon/Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 6 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 3 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 3 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 2 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 5 days

Suwon AB, South Korea – 2016 for 3 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 4 days

Suwon AB, South Korea – 2016 for 4 days

Osan AB, Pyongtaek City, South Korea – 2016 for 4 days

Suwon AB, South Korea – 2016 for 3 days

Gwang Ju AB, South Korea – 2016 for 4 days

Total # of Deployments/TDYs - 39

Total Days Deployed/TDY - 1390

Total Days Deployed/TDY in a foreign country - 1176

2020 Blog Rebirth - Start of a New Journey!

2020!!  Wow, how time flies!  I started this blog originally on July 31^st of 2017, on my 21^st anniversary of joining the United States Air Force.  Over time, life happened and I didn’t write as often as I would have liked.  I have now pushed my blog over to a new platform, one that I can understand how to navigate and afford at the same time!  So, over the course of the next couple weeks I will be pushing the blog content that I have already written, with a few updates here and there, so please come back and read my story as I continue this journey.

As stated, I started this in 2017 as a way to chronicle my Air Force career; it morphed into a little bit more and I am certainly ok with that!  If you read from the next posts on, I am going to highlight every base I was at and add some of my memories along the way.  Eventually, I want to publish into a type of book to hand down to my children.  So many times, we read of a military member with a great story that dies along with them.  I’m not saying that I have a truly great heroine story, but am still proud of the contributions I made within my 23 years of military service. 

This year has been an amazing year for me, one for the history books even!  In the beginning of 2019, I found myself on my 7^th and final deployment.  I deployed for 6 months (from October of 2018 to April of 2019) to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.  I was honored to work with such an amazing group of Professionals that I call friends today.  One highlight of the this trip was that my team refueled Air Force One as President Trump made his way to a historic second summit with the North Korean leader held in Vietnam.  This was the first time that Air Force One had made a stop at this desert base in Qatar. 

In April, I redeployed back to the final duty station in my military career, Nellis Air Force base in Las Vegas, Nevada.  My retirement ceremony was August 9^th and I’m so happy that my mom and children were able to attend.  My mom saw this kid of 19 years old off on a bus heading towards the start of this amazing journey back in July of 1996.  She was there as I marched the parade grounds at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas upon my graduation of Military Basic Training.  She stopped in at Sheppard Air Force Base, also in Texas, to see me start technical training as a Fuels Apprentice.  She was able to visit me numerous times at bases in North Carolina, North Dakota, Alaska, and Nevada.  She worried about me as I deployed seven times to far away, sometimes dangerous lands and breathed a sigh of relief every time I came home.  I was overjoyed that she was able to watch me take the uniform off one more time, this time as the Fuels Superintendent of the 99^th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s Fuels Management Flight, as a 42 year old weathered man - after 23+ years, 7 duty stations, 7 deployments, a college degree, many sacrifices, in times of highs and lows; throughout my career and endless life lessons, she was there to watch me close out my Air Force career.  I officially retired as of October 31^st, 2019 after 23 years, 3 months and 1 day in the grade of Senior Master Sergeant, an E-8 in the United States Air Force. 

In September, my family and I – my wife Marilyn, daughters Avery and Norah – moved to Hawaii to start the next phase of life.  I call it retirement+ as I’m officially a military retiree, yet I’m starting to work on a new career.  I was hired on by a company called Encore Support Systems as a Fuels Program Manager.  While in the military, I was on the logistics side of fuels; issuing, storing, transferring, accounting, laboratory sampling, and overall management of the fuel that went from our storage on base to the aircraft.  In my new career, I am on the engineering side of the house.  I work with all the Air Force bases in the Pacific region (Japan, Korea, Alaska, Guam, Wake Island) to develop projects to keep their fuels infrastructure healthy.  That brings us to where we are now; living in Ewa Beach and working on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam just outside of Honolulu, Hawaii.    I’m pleased at how awesome 2019 was; I’m beyond excited to see what 2020 brings!  I’ve got a new motivation in life for sure – I’m honest when I say – as much as I loved my military career, I lost the spark that kept me excited to stay in, a change was needed.  I’ve always been told that you know when your time in the military is coming to a close.  It hit me like a brick that this was the time.  I could have stayed in another 3 years either striving for that top enlisted stripe to be in the 1% as a Chief Master Sergeant or riding out until the set high-year tenure of 26 years as a Senior Master Sergeant (E-8).  I was ready for a change and a scary change it was.  This is all I had done for my entire adult life.  But in the end, the events that I put in place toward the end of 2018, the preparation that I purposefully did, along with assists along the way, made this transition from a career military professional back to civilian life as smooth as it could have been.  2019 was great for my family and for me personally.  2020 is going to bring new challenges and new excitement to our lives.  The journey is different now, but continues just the same!  Happy New Year Friends!