Preflight
17 June 2002 through 07 July 2003
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17 Jun 02
29 Jun 03
06 Jul 03
17 Jun 02
As the title states, this page describes my life after USMMA and before JSUPT...
As it turns out I have a year off before I begin Flight School; Not quite what I expected but I'm thoroughly enjoying my vacation. I graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy in June of 2002 and took a year off to tour the country. My road trip included extended stops in New York City, West Point, Niagra Falls, Chicago, St. Louis, Scott Air Force Base, Omaha, Sioux Falls, Neche North Dakota, Fargo North Dakota, Burley Idaho, Dillon Montana, Jackpot Nevada, and finally El Dorado Hills California. Each stop lasted anywhere from 2 days to 6 months.
While waiting for flight school to start, I've landed a few part time jobs to pass the time, but other then that I'm relaxing, sleeping, and studying. Also, I make trips to Scott AFB on a monthly basis - since Illinois ANG gave me a flight spot I owe them one weekend a month and two weeks a year.
For those of you keeping track; I hope to write one entry every Sunday of every week (starting in July). I dont claim to be a writer, so I'll apologize beforehand for my grammar and spelling mistakes. Im also learning HTML script as we go, so if you notice something strange, or out of place, please let me know!
That pretty much brings you up to date...I look forward to starting Pilot Training in July and hope that my jourmal will help people along the way!
29 Jun 03
For the past two months I've been working with my Air National Guard Unit at Scott AFB, in Southern Illinois. I was helping with adminstrative duties while out-processing from the base and getting ready for UPT! All the local pilots provided me with tons of helpful information and tips on how to survive the next year! For this reason, I'd like to send a sincere thank you to all the 108th ARS pilots for their help!
While in Southern Illinois, I spent a lot of time in St. Louis and have to say that the town grows on you after a while! There are a lot of historic communities, parks, museums, bars and tourist attractions. Most notably the St. Louis Arch (with the waterfront park), the Budweiser plant (free daily tours with free beer), and Soulard (cobblestone streets with several "quaint" bars). Needless to say, im looking forward to going back and living in the area - for a couple years anyway.
Last Thursday I finally made the trip to Columbus, Mississippi and started in-processing to my new home. While in-processing, you're given a checklist to complete, which requires you to visit several different offices - turn in medical & dental records, register your vehicle on base, check in with your flight commander, etc. After taking a tour of the "on base" dorms I quickly jumped at the opportunity to live in an apartment off base (you're only given the choice if the occupancy on base is 90% or higher). My household goods wont arrive from California until the middle of July so I'll have a few weeks to shop around. Until then, im stuck in a hotel room! I plan on finishing the checklist this week and hopefully I'll meet some of my classmates.
Until next Sunday - Have a safe Holiday!
06 Jul 03
Hello again! I hope everyone had an exciting Fourth of July...I wish I could say the same! A friend and I had reserved a boat over 2 months ago with a $25 deposit for this weekend. When we went to pick it up they had already rented it out! They offered no explanation, only that the boat was gone. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy. I felt like I was in that Seinfield episode - they can take reservations, but don�t know how to HOLD the reservation. Instead of water-skiing, swimming and BBQ'ing, we ended up bumming around shooting fireworks, and watching other small displays. Columbus has a large fireworks display every other year and of course 2003 was an off year!
This past week I continued in-processing to the base and pretty much finished by Wednesday. We were all issued new uniforms, flight suits, flight boots, a G-shock watch, Sunglasses, flight jackets, flight calculators, plotting gear, etc. - all totaling over $1000. After a year and a half, the Air Force will have spent just under $1 Million training me - could you imagine paying back that student loan!?! Along those lines, I have ANOTHER physical on Monday, which will be about the 10th one since I started pursuing the Air Force option! I suppose they want to make 100% sure nothing is wrong before investing all that time and money - I guess I don�t blame them.
Also this week, I moved into a one-bedroom apartment! Its only 10 minutes from base, and cheap enough where the Air Force reimbursements cover all my expenses (including rent, cable, internet and utilities)! I can already tell that I'll like living off-base and love living on my own.
On Wednesday morning I went to Columbus AFB Class 03-11's graduation. Since a class starts every three weeks, a class graduates every three weeks. It was a huge motivation to see those new "pilots" pin on their Wings. After a few keynote speakers, awards are given to the best students, and then each person is called up on stage. A biography is projected on the back screen displaying their hometown, commissioning source, what airplane they'll fly and where they'll be stationed. All in all, the ceremony takes around one hour. If I ever feel frustrated with UPT or hit a wall where I�m not excited to be here, attending a graduation to see my goals first hand should eliminate that doubt.
My next journal entry will be on Tuesday night after my first day of classes! It will be found under the "Phase 1" link on the previous page. Thanks for visiting!