Proud of my Air Force wife

[JoBri 548]

When my wife got here, she mopped rooms in a hospital for a job. In December she will become a Captain in the US Air Force. She is a nurse.  She was awarded 2 new medals today, for taking care of active duty COVID patients

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

Well done!!!!   Congratulations from an old retired Air Force member!!!

[JoBri 548]

[JoBri 548]

But of course,  she didnt get those awards all in one day. She is prior service, enlisted,  in the Tennessee Air National Guard,  which makes me all the more proud of her.   She chose to go as an officer on active duty after her time was up in the Guard. I am glad she was enlisted first, like me. I think being able to relate as an enlisted soldier helps tremendously as an officer

[AJ2019 58]

Congratulations to your wife!!

[SalishSea 17,970]

Great story!  Thanks for sharing and congratulations.  

[JoBri 548]

On 5/29/2021 at 12:05 AM, Lucky Cat said:

Well done!!!!   Congratulations from an old retired Air Force member!!!

Thank you, on her behalf. I myself was Army, stationed in Germany several years. It is nice to be back here as a dependent. I started out enlisted, and then became an officer. She also started out enlisted in the Tennessee Air National Guard, and then got a direct commission as an officer and Air Force nurse on active duty

[JoBri 548]

On 5/29/2021 at 12:05 AM, Lucky Cat said:

Well done!!!!   Congratulations from an old retired Air Force member!!!

Thanks on her behalf, and thank you for your service! I was Army. Thanks to my wife, I get to live the military life again, among the best people in the world

[JoBri 548]

[Ed&Midori1031 330]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:58 PM, JoBri said:

When my wife got here, she mopped rooms in a hospital for a job. In December she will become a Captain in the US Air Force. She is a nurse.  She was awarded 2 new medals today, for taking care of active duty COVID patients

Congrats!

[ohcoffeeeyes 120]

On 5/30/2021 at 4:48 PM, JoBri said:

Thank you, on her behalf. I myself was Army, stationed in Germany several years. It is nice to be back here as a dependent. I started out enlisted, and then became an officer. She also started out enlisted in the Tennessee Air National Guard, and then got a direct commission as an officer and Air Force nurse on active duty

How difficult was that if you don't mind me asking? especially for someone who immigrated.

 

Active duty Naval Aviation here. Lowly junior enlisted right now but my head right now is undecided between staying the full term or transitioning to the reserve at the end of my contract and commissioning either into the Guard or the Naval reserve. Was she a medical AFSC in the Guard? I like being an airframer but aviation isn't my calling in life most definitely.

[JoBri 548]

On 6/14/2021 at 11:58 AM, ohcoffeeeyes said:

How difficult was that if you don't mind me asking? especially for someone who immigrated.

 

Active duty Naval Aviation here. Lowly junior enlisted right now but my head right now is undecided between staying the full term or transitioning to the reserve at the end of my contract and commissioning either into the Guard or the Naval reserve. Was she a medical AFSC in the Guard? I like being an airframer but aviation isn't my calling in life most definitely.

She was 38 when she joined the ANG. She was a permanent resident at that time, unable to hold a secret clearance. Have to be a US citizen to obtain a secret clearance. So one of the very few jobs open to her at that time was in Services.  So she served meals in the dining facility on base in the ANG for her military job. But right after her initial basic training, she became a US citizen. She served her 6 years in the Tennessee Air National Guard while going to nursing school and working full time as a resident assistant at an assisted living facility, then became a civilian nurse. At that time her ANG commitment came to an end, and she was placed in the inactive reserves for the remainder of her 8 year commitment. The Air Force allows nurses up to the age of 45 to be commissioned as an officer on active duty. She didnt want to throw away her 6 years as an airman in the Guard, so she opted to try to make it a career by getting that commission.  That was a two year process, because at first she had a 2 year nursing degree and had to have a 4 year nursing degree to be eligible for commissioning. In the end, when the application was complete, she had to be interviewed by a Chief Nurse, a Colonel in the Air Force, who made the recommendation in her packet.  Finally her packet was sent to the convening board, who ultimately made the selections. Only 20% of applicants who make it to the board are chosen, just 1 in 5. So that was a major hurdle. Once chosen she received orders for Germany, was directly commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and had to attend Commissioned Officer Training in Montgomery, Alabama, for 5 weeks. Five days after she graduated, we were on a plane heading to Germany

[JoBri 548]

On 6/14/2021 at 11:58 AM, ohcoffeeeyes said:

How difficult was that if you don't mind me asking? especially for someone who immigrated.

 

Active duty Naval Aviation here. Lowly junior enlisted right now but my head right now is undecided between staying the full term or transitioning to the reserve at the end of my contract and commissioning either into the Guard or the Naval reserve. Was she a medical AFSC in the Guard? I like being an airframer but aviation isn't my calling in life most definitely.

I am a native US citizen, but like you, I also was a junior enlisted Army truck driver, on active duty in Germany. I got out and joined the Army Reserve,  and went to the University of Tennessee, and I was in the ROTC (Reserve Offucer Training Corps) at my school. I received my commission into the Army Reserve that way, and branched infantry, and was in a Civil Affairs unit, deploying to the Gulf War in support of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). That was the route I took.

Edited June 18, 2021 by JoBri

[JoBri 548]

I have an 11 year old son who says he wants to get a degree as an aeronautical engineer at the Air Force Academy, and become a US Air Force pilot,  and a wife who is an Air Force nurse and officer. To me, I call that being blessed by God

[P0907 127]

@JoBri A very inspiring story. Huge congratulations!