Before I knew it, there were only three months left in my assignment to the PI. Sometimes, I felt like I was there forever; yet every day seemed to provide a new adventure or discovery. We lined up for guardmount like any other shift when I received my Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders. The flight chief was conducting roll call and when he got to my name, I responded as usual with my assigned post, “Nighthawk 13.”
Then I was ordered, “Front and Center.”
I proceeded to the front of the formation and was handed an envelope. My flight chief looked me straight in the eyes and said with a snicker, “Don’t freeze your ass off!”
I returned to the formation while he finished with roll call and the evening's briefings. A few seconds later, guardmount ended and I headed to the parking lot across from the armory to await a vehicle to take me to post. Rather than wait, I braced myself and opened up the envelope to see where my ass was heading next. I felt a sudden surge of nervous excitement. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the PI; but I was curious to see where my next journey would lead me. I opened the envelope and read Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. The flight chief wasn’t kidding when he warned me not to freeze my ass off. Hell, I was going to be ripped from a tropical paradise and placed in an arctic nightmare. Shit, I was transported back to that eighth-grade Geography class. I knew where South Dakota was and I knew it was the home of Mount Rushmore; but I had nothing else to offer. Maybe if I focused more on the actual teacher; rather than the tight jeans and beautiful faces, I would have more information. Hell, who was I kidding the girls trumped Geography every time. At least in South Dakota I would be in good company with some great men-Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. It took a few minutes to process what I read; but I tried not to dwell on it. I did, however, begin asking questions to see if anyone knew anything about Ellsworth. My initial investigation found that Ellsworth wasn’t so bad. At least there were a lot of colleges filled with young single women. Women were a definite plus but the consensus was that it was nothing like Clark; and after everything I had experienced I knew that was a fact. My fact-finding mission also revealed that Ellsworth was part of the Air Forces “Strategic Air Command,” notoriously strict and unforgiving. So much so that they even developed their own spin on a popular phrase: To err is human; to forgive is not SAC policy. That little detail didn’t exactly make me jump for joy. Throughout my investigation, one thing became crystal clear; Dream Sheets were bullshit. …show more content…
Hell, I would venture to bet that they were never even looked at. Maybe the Air Force would consider preferences; however, the overriding deciding factor was not what would make me happy; but where the Air Force needs people the most. For me, the Air Forces’ needs failed to coincide with my preferences. Both times I filled one out, I requested bases in the southeastern part of the United States. The first time they got the climate correct but the country wrong; the second time they got the country correct but the climate wrong. Damn, I would have rather walked through fire being chased by a jaguar than leave the place I had called home for the last 18 months. But that was what I signed up for. I sucked it up and continued my quest to learn as much as I could about my new post. The thoughts of my ride in the PI coming to a screeching halt were surreal. Soon, my bags would be packed and I would be sharing my final handshakes and hugs before leaving a piece of paradise in the Orient. As the days passed the thoughts of leaving began to be replaced with thoughts of returning to “the world” I knew as home. Although the future was unknown, I knew I was ready for whatever came next. Those three months could best be compared to a little kid riding a rollercoaster for the first time. There was a
Then I was ordered, “Front and Center.”
I proceeded to the front of the formation and was handed an envelope. My flight chief looked me straight in the eyes and said with a snicker, “Don’t freeze your ass off!”
I returned to the formation while he finished with roll call and the evening's briefings. A few seconds later, guardmount ended and I headed to the parking lot across from the armory to await a vehicle to take me to post. Rather than wait, I braced myself and opened up the envelope to see where my ass was heading next. I felt a sudden surge of nervous excitement. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the PI; but I was curious to see where my next journey would lead me. I opened the envelope and read Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. The flight chief wasn’t kidding when he warned me not to freeze my ass off. Hell, I was going to be ripped from a tropical paradise and placed in an arctic nightmare. Shit, I was transported back to that eighth-grade Geography class. I knew where South Dakota was and I knew it was the home of Mount Rushmore; but I had nothing else to offer. Maybe if I focused more on the actual teacher; rather than the tight jeans and beautiful faces, I would have more information. Hell, who was I kidding the girls trumped Geography every time. At least in South Dakota I would be in good company with some great men-Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. It took a few minutes to process what I read; but I tried not to dwell on it. I did, however, begin asking questions to see if anyone knew anything about Ellsworth. My initial investigation found that Ellsworth wasn’t so bad. At least there were a lot of colleges filled with young single women. Women were a definite plus but the consensus was that it was nothing like Clark; and after everything I had experienced I knew that was a fact. My fact-finding mission also revealed that Ellsworth was part of the Air Forces “Strategic Air Command,” notoriously strict and unforgiving. So much so that they even developed their own spin on a popular phrase: To err is human; to forgive is not SAC policy. That little detail didn’t exactly make me jump for joy. Throughout my investigation, one thing became crystal clear; Dream Sheets were bullshit. …show more content…
Hell, I would venture to bet that they were never even looked at. Maybe the Air Force would consider preferences; however, the overriding deciding factor was not what would make me happy; but where the Air Force needs people the most. For me, the Air Forces’ needs failed to coincide with my preferences. Both times I filled one out, I requested bases in the southeastern part of the United States. The first time they got the climate correct but the country wrong; the second time they got the country correct but the climate wrong. Damn, I would have rather walked through fire being chased by a jaguar than leave the place I had called home for the last 18 months. But that was what I signed up for. I sucked it up and continued my quest to learn as much as I could about my new post. The thoughts of my ride in the PI coming to a screeching halt were surreal. Soon, my bags would be packed and I would be sharing my final handshakes and hugs before leaving a piece of paradise in the Orient. As the days passed the thoughts of leaving began to be replaced with thoughts of returning to “the world” I knew as home. Although the future was unknown, I knew I was ready for whatever came next. Those three months could best be compared to a little kid riding a rollercoaster for the first time. There was a