The thing I disliked most about Basic was the fact that I missed all 3 major holidays. I had never been away from my family on Christmas before. That sucked! But I got over it, guess I'd have to sooner or later anyways. The other thing I didn't care for was the chow hall, not that the food was all that bad, but the mechanics of the thing. You walk in in a single file line, get your food, and eat. You can't look up from your plate, can't smile, or walk the wrong way. But what about all the screaming and yelling? Well, I am a pretty laid back person, yeah I got chewed out a time or two, you just stand there and take it, and try not to laugh in the guys face. Then you go back to the dorm and joke around about it. In one ear and out the other. But I must admit, Graduating Basic training was one of the greatest feelings in the world, knowing that you accomplished something that most people are afraid to even think about.
1 month of Basic training and 6 months in Wichita Falls, by now you should know why my opinion of Texas isn't all that great. But I must admit, tech school was a lot a fun. It is a lot like collage, with a military environment. One good thing about it is that the longer you are there, the better it gets. Once you get to know the people in charge and how things work, you can start using it to your advantage....
Part 1 of the Aircraft Maintenance course is Fundamentals of Aircraft Maintenance. This lasts about three weeks if I remember right. It is a course all Crew Chiefs must go through, no matter what kind of plane they may be working on. Here we learn about the very basics of airplanes such as tools, hydraulics, flight controls, engines, landing gear, etc. The propose is to familiarize us with airplanes in general.
Part 2 is geared for the specific airplanes we work on, in my case, the F-15 Eagle. This took up the bulk of the time I spent there. It is also where I made some very good friends, and had a lot of fun. Here I learned the basics of the F-15. We learned the location of major components, practiced removing and installing them, applying electric and hydraulic power and other essentials.
Hardly. I had a blast at tech school. The Air Force is very good about keeping its people happy. I got a chance to go to Oklahoma City and see a friend of mine that I hadn't see for years. That is also where the muffler fell off of my car… I also made it to Dallas 3 times. Dallas is great! I loved it there! I also had a great time just hanging out with my friends there.
The Air Force is trying out a new program in which they train the crew chiefs at Sheppard, then send them to a operational base for more "hands on" training on real, operational aircraft. For the F-15, that base just happens to be in Panama City, FL! Me and 4 of my classmates rented a Penske truck, A.K.A. The Penske Party Wagon, loaded up our crap, and took off on a 3-day road trip I will never forget. They wanted us to wait till Saturday before we left, but we didn't think that was a good idea, so we slithered out Friday afternoon and spent the first night in Dallas, which is only about a 2 hour drive. Saturday, we got lost in Louisiana and ended up staying in Lafayette. We got up late the next day and took out time going to New Orleans.
Tyndall is by far my favorite place so far. All we really did is go over launch and recovery procedures. Hardly any actual work. Spent a lot of time hanging out on the strip, Highway 95 I think it was. I have always loved FL, it does rain a lot, but for the most part the weather is great, and of course there is the beach and the girls…..
Went home, took a break.
Well, here I am, in the real Air Force, doing a real job. To be honest, I don't get out much here, so I haven't really formed a opinion about this place. The Japanese people are very cool, but this whole Asian thing just haven't me. I normally work about 10-12 hours a day and sleep the rest. The weather here is very hot and humid, not my style. I work the night shift so it is not to bad, a little cooler. And there are a lot of typhoons, which gets us a quick day or two off. One good thing about this place is the travel. Since I have been here, my squadron has been to Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Korea, but I only got on the trip to Korea. There are plans for Mainland Japan, Alaska, Las Vegas, and another trip to Korea.
