Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada - Part 2

I will never forget my time at Nellis. I found out in March of 2017 that I would soon be promoted to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt/E-8) with an effective date of rank of 1 June 2017. A huge life adjustment happened at this base as well as we brought into the world a beautiful baby girl on December 18, 2017. To this day, I get her birthday backwards; I was asked at a recent appointment to give her birthday to which I said 12/17/18 – the receptionist smiled and shook her head. I corrected myself with 12/18/17! Our lil Norah Leona Kahealani Watros is our little angel yet has the biggest mischievous spirit! I deployed for a 7th and final time, spending 188 days in Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar from October of 2018 till April of 2019. 

Al Udeid Air Base is a military base southwest of Doha, Qatar. It houses Qatar Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and other Gulf War Coalition personnel and assets. It is host to a forward headquarters of United States Central Command, headquarters of United States Air Forces Central Command, No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group RAF, and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing of the USAF. In 1999, the then Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad told U.S. officials that he would like to see as many as 10,000 U.S. servicemen permanently stationed at Al Udeid. According to media reports in June 2017, the base hosted over 11,000 U.S. and U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition forces and over 100 operational aircraft. Al Udeid Air Base now serves as a logistics, command, and basing hub for U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nearby Camp As Sayliyah houses significant U.S. military equipment pre-positioning and command and control facilities for the CENTCOM's area of operations. Both Qatar and the United States have invested in the construction and expansion of these facilities since the mid-1990s, and they form the main hub of the CENTCOM air and ground logistical network in the area of responsibility. As a result of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. and partner nation facilities in Qatar and elsewhere have received higher use in recent years and may require further investment to meet current and potential future needs. We accomplished so many things as a team - I was grateful for this 7th and final deployment and after so many trips to the middle east, I had never been up close and personal with a camel. I FINALLY got to ride a camel!! WIN!

After arriving home in April of 2019, with an approved retirement date already set, I was in out-processing mode once again – this time there would be no assignment coming; reality was setting in that this was the end of my military career – one that would officially end on October 31st, 2019 and span 23 years, 3 months, and 1 day. I am extremely thankful and proud that my mom was able to attend my military retirement. She was the one who set me off on this journey in the United States Air Force when I was a 19 year old kid back in 1996. Here I stood before my flight, my squadron, my children, my parents, my friends, my colleagues, saying my military goodbyes. What an extremely hard day! One of my best friends, Dom Brock, a class mate of mine back to our Ellsworth Elementary days all the way through graduation in our little Michigan town presided over my retirement as he was an Army Warrant Officer. The point where I nearly lost my military bearing was a portion of the ceremony where I was to present a folded flag to a person of my choosing – my mom of course. Her face said it all; as she started crying (she didn’t know that this was part of the ceremony) I knew she was proud of a son who had served for many years. I had taken her along and she had seen nearly every base I had ever been to in person. And at that point, I couldn’t keep it together ether. I was supposed to hand her the flag, salute it and do an about face and walk away. I was able to salute, then gave her a big hug before walking back to my chair. All bearing lost….after what happened just a few months later, it was apparent that that was the best loss of bearing and so very worth it!

So many more memories were made at Nellis – from the birth of a child, our flight being honored as one of the top 3 POL flights in 2017 in ALL of the Air Force, to a new stripe, trips to Disney Land in California and The Grand Canyon in Arizona; learning how to play craps and roulette and enjoying the many hours sitting on a poker table in Las Vegas. Many NASCAR races with my racing buddy, Avery, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (we lived less than 5 miles away), trips to Hollywood, San Diego, the mountains around Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Valley of Fire State Park, to buying a new (50 year old) 1970 Chevrolet C-10 I called “The Ghost” (my dad has her in Michigan!), and of course a once in a lifetime military retirement. What an amazing assignment. What a way to end my military career! 

My advice is to never give up on your dreams and don’t ever forget where you came from. I don’t have any secrets as to how I came from a small town in Northern Michigan as a 19 year old kid to that of the crusty old Senior Master Sergeant at 42 in the United States Air Force. I will say this, I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I feel I’ve proved my worth within every organization I’ve been in; I’ve led teams as large as 110 people, but I can still get back and do the basic tasks that we expect of our new Airmen. To me, that’s what this is all about.  

My main goal in sharing this is to leave some sort of legacy for my children at some point. I have a friend who’s now in his 80s; an Army vet who served his country for 30 years. I’d love to hear his story; some day in my life, I’d hope someone would love to hear my story – even if it’s after I’m gone. Through all my time in the military, it’s always been about the people and the relationship and bond between those people. Through my 7 assignments and 7 deployments and 32 TDYs, I must have come across thousands of people, both within in the military and those I knew from elsewhere. I have so many fond memories with so many people. I’m sure I’ve forgotten far more stories than I’ve written, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I truly hope you’ve had a chance to read through all the posts thus far and smiled, laughed, felt my pain at times through my adventures within the Air Force and life that surrounded those. I have been blessed beyond measure. Thank you for all who’ve been in my life thus far. But you know what? The journey didn’t end with me retiring from this great United States Air Force. 

We made it across the finish line - However, the journey continues to this day!! I dedicate this to my beautiful mom who we sadly lost this year. She was there from the beginning until the end of my time in the military. She put me on a bus in 1996 and watched me retire in 2019. She visited me in nearly every place I lived; she worried about me on every deployment I went on. Mom was there for my successes and around when I stumbled as well. She truly was always my rock and my biggest fan throughout this journey. Thank you to an amazing woman. Rest easy Sherry Lynn Watros-Fisher (11 August 1953 - 20 February 2020). Love you always mom! 

A quick recap to my 23 years, 3 months, and 1 day in the Greatest Air Force on Earth!

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