Category: Air Force
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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…
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Friend…or not?
Back in January of 2008, I was in a bad place. I was deployed twice in 2007, but only for a couple of months each time. One was in the spring and one in the fall. On both deployments, something happened that caused me extensive pain and nightmares. Both were combat-related things that I was…
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Sunglasses
I bought new sunglasses recently. When I was in my 20s, I used to lose them all the time, so I never invested in a decent, comfortable pair. I did once buy this fancy pair of Nike sunglasses right after basic training, but they were the wrong color for wearing in military uniform. And then…
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Daily Prompt 12/16
Tell us one thing you hope people never say about you… I like this daily prompt a lot. This is a great question. I hope people never say that I don’t or didn’t care. I care so much. Maybe more than I should in some instances. Sometimes I care so much that I sacrifice myself…
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Stepping Back
When I first started thinking about retiring from the Air Force, I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do. A huge part of me was considering applying for this recall that would give me two more years in the Air Force. I felt like I needed that security blanket, like I wasn’t…
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Processing
When I first saw that I got 100% from the VA, permanent and total, I was in shock. Then I was happy. Then more shock. Then happiness again. I think I have been on this rollercoaster the entire time since I found out. I got the packet yesterday and read the entire thing twice. It…
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Now I love the VA
I was screwing around on my computer last night for no real reason. Looking up that kid from the daycare, I guess. I realized that I had just given up on my VA claim about a month or so ago and I stopped checking. I went from checking twice a day to checking twice a…
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I Hate the VA
On December 22 last year I submitted my 24 item disability claim to the Veterans Administration. I had one year after retirement to get it in and still get back pay all the way to the day after my retirement was effective. It took me almost that whole year because I needed to relive all…
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No Apologies
So two days ago, I was a little ahead. I actually had my therapy and med appointments today. My therapy appointment today was great. I was able to go a little deeper with her today and let her into a bit more of me. She listened and her facial expressions were very validating. The most…