Posted on 05/22/2005 9:39:04 AM PDT by Tennessee_Bob
It was twenty-one years ago today at the Knoxville MEPS station that my father stood in front of me in his blue uniform, silver oak leaves on his shoulder, raised his right and and said, "Raise your right hand and repeat after me..." And so I did:
I, Robert _____, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
Mom was there as well, standing off to the side with the MEPS commander - she was crying. My dad shook my hand, hugged me, and told me he was proud of me - the first time I remember hearing those words in the twenty years I'd been alive.
And then they left - I now belonged to Uncle Sam.
Basic training, then technical school for basic jet engine mechanics, then on to the advanced school for the F-100-100 engines - I was going to be a mechanic on the F-15 and the F-16. And then orders to Nellis AFB, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The shock of arriving in Las Vegas in November of 1984, just after sunset. Coming from a small town of 28,000 people, and seeing all the lights spread across the valley. My first (and as it turned out, my only) duty station was waiting.
I spent ten years there, but not by my choice. I'll admit to a bit of personal vanity, I was damned good at what I did. After a couple years, I was selected to work on the Field Service Evaluation of the F-100DP, a prototype motor for the F-100-220. Because of my experience on that platform, I was selected to help start the first F-100-220 shop in the Air Force. As a result, anytime I ended up hot for orders, I'd be coded to stay on base.
It was always a lot of work - but it wasn't hard work. But then, if you enjoy what you're doing, it's never hard work. And I loved what I was doing. A young man, in his early twenties, getting paid (admittedly, not much) to work on motors that are twenty feet long, louder than hell, and belch a huge flame out the ass-end - how could you not love what you were doing. We kicked ass - we did all the heavy maintenance for the Thunderbirds, but they never mention that. Air Force would tell us that it was going to take three months to complete a TCTO, we'd have it done in a month and a half. Mr. Scott had nothing on us.
I got to work with a lot of our allies. I loved working with the British - a classy group of people. The Germans were great too. The French...they were the French - I don't know that I need to say more.
After we started the -220 shop, we had a lot of visitors coming in - allied nations interested in purchasing the -220, wanting to know how the maintenance was going, wanting to know how our supply line worked, wanting to know about support from Pratt & Whitney.
I worked on several "prototype" platforms - and had a blast doing it. It was literally a job where I had to pinch myself to realize I was getting paid to do what I was doing. I volunteered to work crash recovery, and saw parts of Nevada that no one can see - unless they've bailed out of jet, or unless they're up there picking up the pieces of that jet. I worked on command staff for a year, and in Operations for a year - part of seeing the "Big Picture."
I spent ten years in the Air Force - I got out in order to try to save my marriage - needless to say, I'm now divorced - but I've got sole custody of my twelve year old daughter. She tells people that her dad used to be a jet engine mechanic, and that when she was six months old, she was inside an afterburner with me (I don't know - call it a rite of passage).
It goes without saying that I'm very proud of our military today. To serve in uniform gives the veteran an understanding and a camaraderie that the civilian will never understand.
Real good post. Thanks for serving. Best to you.
My husband served over 22 years with the Army, then the Army Reserve.....that was what he loved. So I hear where you're coming from.
He started out as a mechanic too. Reached E-8.
Good luck, enjoy your 'retirement'......maybe I'll meet you at the PX......
Thanks for your 10 years of service, without people like you what would the U.S. do?
It reminded me when I saw my father for the first time after completing Basic Training. (While in Tech. School at Lowry AFB, I came home on leave for a cousin's wedding.) I was in my Class A's and the first thing he said to me was, "When are you gonna let your hair grow?"
He was always after us boys to keep our hair short.
He was also a pilot, he flew B-29's out of Guam during the Second World War.
We laughed about the haircut crack, but I knew he was busting with pride.
Eagles up!
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