New Start

Well. It's been a few weeks since I've written on here. A lot has been going on. Leave was amazing. It was so good to be home and have some sort of normalcy for a few days. It was hard to leave Maine again but I was excited to get out to Idaho and start my job. I got out to Mountain Home July 11th. I've been out here 4 weeks and so far it's not so bad. I just got internet a few days ago so hopefully I'll be able to post on here a bit more than I have.

I'm assigned to the 366 Equipment Maint. Squadron/Munitions Flight/Line Delivery element. I can without hesitation say that I thoroughly enjoy work and my job. The shop and the people that work in it are really laid back people. They do their job right but it's nothing as I imagined after going through Basic and Tech School. Its yet again a totally different world. My supervisor was actually stationed at Sheppard while I was there as an instructor. He was an instructor for swing shift though, so I never really knew him but its cool we were there the same time. So far I haven't done much at the shop or pertaining to my job. Right now it's a lot of inprocessing appointments and computer based training. It's kind of a pain to do but it'll be over soon. Plus the past two weeks I've been in FTAC which stands for First Term Airmen's Course. It's basically a "refresher" over things we've learned in basic and tech and services and things we can do at Mountain Home. I learned some good information, but the whole time I was in it I just wanted to be back at work haha. We had to write an essay for the class. I'll post it below.

As for Mountain Home...well...it's not Maine. I know I'm definitely somewhere else. Its very flat and between two mountain ranges. A high desert plateau I have been told. The weather is very nice. Dry heat. No humidity. Sunny. No clouds. I like it. I haven't really been out much. I don't have a car (Not enough money, as usual) but hopefully soon I'll have something so I can go out and explore. The base is kind of isolated from everything. We're 11 miles from the town of Mountain Home and about an hour from Boise. So we are in the middle of nowhere. The challenge is to stay occupied. I've been swimming/running as much as I can. Also I've volunteered at the Airmen's Center. It's a place with a bunch of TV's, pool tables, games, etc. Hopefully I'll be doing that in a few weeks as well. I'm hoping to go fishing soon too. The fishing around here is amazing. On August 30th I'm going whitewater rafting too. That should be really fun. I really do miss Maine though. It'll take me awhile to get used to this place.

I'll try to keep posting here as much as I can. Here are some pictures of Mountain Home.

And my essay...

To be a First Term Airman

To start off, being a First Term Airman means so many different things to me. I’m very excited and happy to start off my career in the Air Force and help provide whatever I can to my country and fellow service members. I am also humbled by the tasks and the journeys that lie ahead of me. It has been a long road to get where I am today, but I am grateful to be here and to wear the uniform of the United States Air Force.

My journey to get in the Air Force started about a year ago. I had always wanted to join the Air Force, even when I was a little kid. What job I had didn’t matter to me; whether I was a pilot or a mechanic, as long as I was “in the fight” I knew it was something I had to do. I had originally planned to join right after high school, but I instead took the traditional route and went to school for three years. In retrospect I never felt right going to school, I wasn’t happy doing it and I didn’t feel like I was really fulfilling my purpose so after my junior year in college I went and talked to the recruiter in my town and began the path on enlisting. Looking back at those three years in college I don’t see them as wasted time, in fact I feel like it was better that I came in when I did and had time to mature and really know that this was what I wanted to do. What motivated me was to serve my country like so many others before me have. Getting into the Air Force took longer and was harder than I thought it would be. I began my enlistment process in July and did not finally take the oath and swear into the DEP program until October 24, 2008. It then took me even longer after that to get a job picked out for me and a shipping date for BMT which I did not receive until November. Finally the day came on February 3, 2008 for me to leave my civilian life behind and leave my family and girlfriend to go to BMT. I had prepared myself greatly for BMT and it paid off, but you never know what BMT is like until you actually go through it. It’s hard to describe BMT in a few lines, but to me it was very challenging but an even more rewarding experience, I grew tremendously from my setbacks and breakthroughs in BMT, but I survived, like thousands of other recruits do each year. Getting my Airman’s Coin and graduating BMT as an Honor graduate is one of my greatest accomplishments. It is something I will never forget.

To be a First Term Airman takes a lot of humility and humbleness. I had always heard of sacrifices that military members have made, some are small sacrifices like missing their child’s baseball game because of a base exercise, and some are the most ultimate sacrifices like the soldiers who have given their lives to save others and to protect our country. I myself am starting to see some of the sacrifices I have made and will be making in the future. I am stationed all the way across the country from my loved ones and I readily admit it’s hard to be so far from them and only get to be with them for short periods of time. But I know this is something I signed up for, it’s a part of being in the military. I know that when I get deployed to some foreign country the sacrifice will grow even greater, still, it is something I am prepared for. I know others have made even greater sacrifices than what I am making right now, and that makes me humble. It makes my sacrifices seem like nothing at all. Being a First Term Airman isn’t the most glamorous position. It takes a lot of humility as well. We are all new to this different world of AFI’s, T.O.’s and the UCMJ. I know I will make mistakes, although I strive for perfection as I was taught in basic training. Being new to something comes with its own territory. But in due time I will grow even more and perfect my newly-learned skills. Nothing makes you learn quicker than a small dose of humility every once in awhile. I need to learn as much as I possibly can about my job and my position in theUnited States Air Force. Being a First Term Airman means doing a lot of learning and absorbing all I possibly can from my superiors, they have been here longer than I have, they know more.

I have a lot of pride in being a First Term Airman. I know the trials I have been through, from BMT to tech school and now completing my CDC’s. There have been challenges, but I have risen to them every time. I have pride in that. Every time I reminisce I still can’t believe I’m here today and wearing the uniform of the United States Air Force. The first time I went out onto the flight line and seeing all the aircraft was so motivating, knowing I was finally serving my purpose and serving my country. I had finally realized my dreams since I was a little kid of actually being here. I almost have to pinch myself to make me believe I’m actually here. My parents and girlfriend are very proud of me and what I am doing, they tell me every time I talk to them. That gives me pride. One percent of the population of the United States is in the military. I take pride in that too. We are a small group. I joined during times of war; I raised my hand and took the oath during times of danger. I very well could be sent overseas and put in harm’s way. If my country asks me to do that I am ready and willing to do so. I have pride every time I put on that uniform.

I can honestly say that my time as a First Term Airman will be looked back upon as a very positive time in my life. I will see there were many challenges and that I made it through all of them. I have grown so much in a few short months. Being in the United States Air Force has changed my life for the better. It is tough to be a First Term Airman, but this time is worth its weight in gold and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

TYLER W. ISHERWOOD, A1C, USAF