BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --
Surrounded by fellow defenders, an Airman assigned to the
455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron here learned that his days as a
member of the Air Force’s enlisted corps were numbered when leadership revealed
his selection for Officer Training School, May 1.
Tech. Sgt. Shawn Avery, 455th ESFS NCO in charge of police services,
raised his right hand and recited the oath of enlistment in January 2001. Abiding
by the philosophy his mother instilled in him as a child, Avery filled the 14
years that followed with achievements, self-improvement and an unyielding
desire to do more.
“Failure was not an option,” the Alabama native said. “My
mother taught me that. As a single parent with four children we were raised
with a good work ethic. She worked two, sometimes three jobs to make sure we
had what we needed. I saw that, and learned just by watching her. Slacking was
not an option.”
With that principle as his compass, Avery exceeded
expectations and garnered recognition everywhere he went. From being selected
as an elite gate guard at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, to becoming a
Military Training Instructor at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, the Airman never
met a trail he couldn’t blaze.
“Being an MTI really built me as an NCO,” Avery said. “I got
my blue rope, signifying I was in the top 10 percent of MTIs, and I earned two degrees
from the Community College of the Air Force, but the way I was raised, that
wasn’t enough. I went on to earn my Air Education and Training Command master
instructor certification, making me in the top two percent of instructors at
the time.”
With his military education well in hand, and having attained
every rank-applicable honor possible, Avery turned his attention to civilian
education.
“I looked at my career and thought I’ve been in the military
for as long as I have and I have nothing to show for it,” Avery said. “At that
point, I really started to push my career and push my education.”
True to his character, Avery made quick work of attaining a
bachelor’s in criminal justice. No sooner had the goal been met, that Avery set
his sights on another: a commission.
“Of course, when I got my bachelor’s degree it wasn’t
enough,” he said. “I needed to apply to OTS because I’ve always tried to take
it a step further. I’ve enjoyed my career and I’m going to be in the force
until they kick me out, but I would regret not getting involved in every corner
of the Air Force that I could, so the next step was becoming an officer.”
With his application submitted in January, months of
painstaking silence came to an end when Avery received his notification of
acceptance. In spite of his success, the technical sergeant remains rooted in
the principles that first led him to serve.
“I’m a country boy from Alabama,” Avery said. “School was
nowhere in my future, but I did it. Now that I’ve traveled the path myself, I
want to guide people on it. I was raised not to exceed and step on people, but
to exceed and bring people with me. That’s what I will always strive to do.”