Category: Air Force
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Stop holding it all in
(Mental note to self-it does not help you to hold in your emotions. You know this. You have learned this lesson repeatedly over the last three or so years. Just stop already!) I woke up yesterday and right away I knew I wasn’t feeling like myself. Something was off. I was cranky but for no…
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May 30, 2007
Sangin, Helmand province, near the Kajaki Dam…one Chinook helicopter is shot down, supposedly by multiple rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). I was there, 30K+ feet above it all. We moved to assist the recovery operations. The helicopter had been on fire when it crashed so there were definitely no survivors. Then there was an ambush on the…
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Daily Prompt 4/17/23
One time on a deployment, I was enjoying a final drink with some coworkers who had become great friends. We were celebrating our deployment and how we had managed to not kill anyone. To my left was this weird group of guys who were laughing and hollering. They would be quiet and leaning into something,…
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Daily Prompt 4/12/23
Once upon a time, during what feels like a lifetime ago, I broke my hand when I punched a very thick glass mirror. I didn’t break the mirror, but I did break my hand. After weeks in a cast, I finally got free and got to start occupational therapy. I’ve done physical therapy a couple…
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Daily Prompt 4/1/23
Pre-pandemic life was me working in the Air Force, in the office 99.9% of the time, drained, desperately needing help, married, and unable to take any medication or get any assistance for ADHD, PTSD nightmares, or anxiety. Now I am married to someone amazing who loves me and treats well, I live in a completely…
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Daily Prompt 3/23/23
This is a funny question, only because I don’t have a job currently. But of course technology changed my job while I was in the military. I was in the Air Force, the most technologically advanced branch. And over 20 years technology is going to change significantly. For us backend flyers, it was computer upgrades…
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Stefani Germanotta
aka Lady Gaga I was watching Oprah and Harry’s show earlier today. It was the first episode and it hit me pretty hard. I’m really familiar with Harry’s story at this point, and I know “stuff” had happened to Oprah, but I learned a lot more about her in this first episode. She also talked…
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Daily Prompt 3/15/23
What was the best compliment you’ve received? The best compliment I ever received was from a person who didn’t like me very much. We had a couple run-ins at a previous base and then he became the squadron commander at a deployed unit I left just as he was arriving. The combat flying crew I…
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Daily Prompt 2/28/23
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? This is one of my favorite prompts ever. After my 4 years in college, I had no plan. None. I worked at a home for juvenile delinquent boys for about 6 months and also at a daycare. Both jobs had terrible pay…
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The End of an Era
In the US Air Force, as in all military branches, there is a hierarchy of organizations. To make it easy, I’ll just talk the basics on a base. You have the wing, which is composed of groups. And each group is composed of squadrons, some sorted by job or career field like civil engineering, and…
Zander's Inside Voice 