SOUTHWEST ASIA -- People serve in the military for a variety of reasons. My reason for joining was to pay for a college education and if you asked me back then, I would have told you I would be a civilian again in no more than four years. However, as many of us know, plans change.
I had at least been introduced to the military as my uncle served in the US Navy for one enlistment and my father was drafted during the Vietnam War, but he had an issue which led to him being medically released shortly after basic training. Because my family was not steeped in military service, I had not seriously considered serving our nation until after high school graduation, when the cost of higher learning became alarmingly clear. So I set off to Lackland Air Force Base with the intention of seeing the world and going to college on the Air Force’s dime.
My plan was derailed pretty quickly. It was immediately apparent that the Air Force required me to know my job and be a professional Airman first. The college education I wished to receive was not a primary concern of the military; the Air Force is in the business of Air Power and my primary duty was to be an expert at my job. With help from some excellent supervisors, I became busy learning my job and trying to be the best Airman I could be. I pushed hard to obtain my 5-level upgrade, excel in my Career Development Courses, and get 100 percent task qualified. I didn’t go to college.
Then I met a young Airman named Stephanie Minjarez. She was a ground radio wideband satellite communications troop and someone who I wanted to get to know better. Somehow I convinced that Airman to marry me and we continued our Air Force journey together. In 1995 our first child, Kelsey Shea Wade, came into the world. Juggling a new family, dual-military Air Force life, and deployment rotations in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, left very little time for anything else. I didn’t go to college.
I finally earned my Community College of the Air Force degree after I made Master Sgt. in 2005. By that time I had been in the Air Force for nearly 13 years. Having built up some momentum, I continued my education and completed my Bachelor’s degree in 2011. Sixteen years after the initial timeline I had set when I enlisted, I finally had my degree.
I believe we all join the military for many different reasons. As I mentioned, I started out wanting an education, but things changed over time. Instead of college, I wanted to be a productive Airman on the best, most powerful team in the world, faithfully serve others and carry on our proud Air Force tradition.
Being part of a heritage that includes heroes like Jimmy Doolittle, Billy Mitchell, Hap Arnold, Bill Creech, Richard Etchberger, Esther Blake, Benjamin O. Davis, Thomas Barnes, and Eugene Bullard, to name a few, became very important to me. And when I started my family, it was more important that I learned to be a good husband and father before I tried to tackle economics or calculus. I joined the Air Force to become a college graduate, but instead I became an Airman, a patriot and a family man. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Steel sharpens steel and Airmen sharpen other Airmen. My change over the years is not to my credit, but to the credit of other Airmen. I became a patriot because other Airmen showed me the glory of military service, espoused our proud heritage, and blazed an honorable path for me to follow. I prioritized my family because other Airmen helped me understand that my time in the Air Force will come to an end, but my family will be with me forever—so I had better act accordingly.
The story above is about Airmen being a positive influence in other Airmen’s lives, and I ask that you keep on writing that story. Plans change, but our wingmen help ensure we don’t stray from the right path. Be that influence. RED TAILS… Spit Fire!