Last Septemeber I made the sacrifice to say goodbye to everything that I had in Philly to embark in a journey to get my life back into place in the United States Air Force. I remember going to the train station down in Center City w/my parents and meeting my recruiter down there with 4 other guys waiting to go too along w/their families. As it was time to go to Harrisburg to stay for the night, I said goodbye to my parents with a smile and a confidence that couldn't be broken. Nothing was said on the train ride to Harrisburg. After spending the night in Harrisburg, we all got together and joined up with other people who also came to Harrisburg from all over PA, NJ, DE, and NY. We all had to split up in groups and I believe that the PA group that was formed (there were two), they were the one's going to be in the same squadron at Basic. We took a long flight to Chicago, IL only to find out that the plane we needed to take to Lackland was leaving...so we ran through the airport and arrived just in time. We arrived in San Antonio with a very good sense of confidence and well basically, we though we were the shit...UNTIL...as we were joking around, laughing and enjoying the last few moments of our freedom...a loud yell came from down the hall which basically meant...we're in trouble. Along came a female Senior Airman who greeted us with her "happy" attitude...happy as an exaggeration. We sat in the lobby in complete silence reading the bible amongst other things. The buses came to pick us up and the journey to the base began...we watched the city lights grow dimmer as we traveled further away from the city. Finally, as we reached Lackland it was pitch dark. A few lights here and there but that's about it. A scared feeling came through my body and I was prepared for the worst...well it was worse that I ever expected!!! A big sergeant came onto the bus and screamed, "You have 10 seconds to get off of this damn bus and I just wasted 5 by talking to you so get off!!!" From there, we were in Basic Military Training. Around 3AM we arrived to the "barrack" where we all stayed in. I learned that even the toughest kid's that went into basic weren't all that bad 'cause there wasn't a night where one cried in fear of getting recycled or just the stress level that this experience has, or even being very homesick. Your first phone call during the first weekend consists of about 3 minutes...you are ordered to just give your parents the address to receive mail...and to also let them know you're okay. I remember that I held in the tears when my mom answered the phone but lost it when my dad said hi. The mindframe that goes through is like you're scared and all the confidence you had before disappeared immediately. Each day was a new challenge. Our TI, Staff Sergeant Baum (BOMB), was tough but also if you listened to him...in reality he's really just setting us up for excellence. Nothing was perfect 'cause there's always someone that could do something wrong. He always preached, "Exceed the standard" which meant that he understood what it's like for us since he was in our shoes before. The deal was if we had a great week where we weren't disciplined during class, physical conditioning, or even doing well in inspections...you'd catch the human side of him. He would take us in the Day Room (which was basically the living room of our barracks) and tell us a story, joke around and other things to loosen us up. He always said that the military standards sucks...yes he said that to us and that since it sucks so bad, it's our job to exceed that standard to make it more worthy. He drilled us w/our marching which I felt we were pretty tight (tight meaning sharp). The goals at basic training is to work your way to the 6th week and graduated in your "blues". As we reached the 6th week, a shared respect amongst all the other flights that lived in the dorm was evident. There were 4 flights in my squadron and all the TI's understood that we were becoming "airmen". As long as we kept our military bearing and remember proper customs and courtesies towards the TI's, the TI of the the other flight or flights will make a positive example of you towards their respective flights. You're looked upon as trainees that are becoming Airmen and we must've worked hard to get to that stage which becomes the common goal among the trainee's that aren't at their 6th week. As you reach graduation day, it's the best day of your life no matter what. To stand with the group of trainee's that may have arrived with you on the same plane...or whatever...and to see your parents for the first time since you left, they see the change in your attitude and how you "grew" in all aspects of yourself. I will never forget the time I spent at Basic Training but I also can say that I was the ONLY kid who went on the train to Harrisburg with the 4 others that graduated on time. I bought the system that our TI presented and played his game to the best of my ability. Sure, I spent days on my face doing pushups but it's all a learning process that makes you grow more mature.
This was our squadron chant...
Say it...strike first, strike fast, strike hard...
Say it...strike first, strike fast, strike hard...
Who strikes first??? We do sir/ma'am
And who are we??? The 323 Airmen sir...
And what exactly are the 323 Airman???
Sir/Ma'am, a 323 Airman is silent, lethal, shrowed in stealth. True to his country, true to himself. We slip through the night w/venomous bite, with integrity, courage to do what's right.
Who...what?
Who...what?
Who, who, who....THREE TWO THREE!!!
Hisssssssssss......wwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!!!
