I have one week until graduation. I will be on administrative hold until July 3rd when I will travel down to Biloxi, MS to go to Keesler AFB for 6 weeks of clinicals. I will start that on July 10th and graduate from phase II on August 20th. More details to come but I can say I am extremely excited to be one hour away from New Orleans and be at a base that is right on the water. Looks like I may make it to the Abita factory after all!!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Still here and doing well
So it appears that I have been slacking on updating the blog. In my defense, not too much is different and getting some Internet time is a bit of a challenge.
I am still at Fort Sam Houston outside of San Antonio, TX and it is hot. I have ATP now which means that I can leave base and although I don't take full advantage of that privilege, I have explored some of San Antonio and enjoy the Riverwalk. Humidity aside, I have enjoyed TX so far. I have found some cool places around town that not too many tourists and military people know about.
As far as things on base are concerned, I am a black rope (which is for drill team) and I am also an Airman Mentor which is when the new Airmen come, we take care of them for the first week. Since I am still in school, it is more of a one day a week obligation but in a few weeks it will be my full time daily duty. That is because I have completed the nursing portion of my training and on Monday I will be starting the Air Force Specifics class which is 2 weeks. After that, I will have graduated from technical training at Sam Houston but I will be on an administrative hold for a week or so. After I am done with here I head to a Phase II location, which I do not know where it will be yet, but there has been delays in students advancing to Phase II locations. There are only 6 bases that take Phase II students and those spots have been full and some of the instructors deployed so that takes spots away as well. I may not be explaining it all that well but I hardly know what's going on so it's difficult to explain.
I did manage to make it home for Memorial Day and surprise some family and friends. It turned out to be a much shorter trip than I anticipated and although I tried, I did not manage to make my rounds to see everyone I wanted to. That being said, I had a fantastic and relaxing weekend that was very much needed. The weather was wonderful and I think I was smiling ear to ear the entire time I was there. It almost brought a tear to my eye flying back into NE, when we finally broke under the clouds and I could see my homeland again.
I should be finding out where my Phase II location will be soon, hopefully within this next week and I will make sure to post it up here. Also, photos from my surprise visit home are to follow.
Again, I want to thank everyone for the continued support. You all are never far from my mind.
I am still at Fort Sam Houston outside of San Antonio, TX and it is hot. I have ATP now which means that I can leave base and although I don't take full advantage of that privilege, I have explored some of San Antonio and enjoy the Riverwalk. Humidity aside, I have enjoyed TX so far. I have found some cool places around town that not too many tourists and military people know about.
As far as things on base are concerned, I am a black rope (which is for drill team) and I am also an Airman Mentor which is when the new Airmen come, we take care of them for the first week. Since I am still in school, it is more of a one day a week obligation but in a few weeks it will be my full time daily duty. That is because I have completed the nursing portion of my training and on Monday I will be starting the Air Force Specifics class which is 2 weeks. After that, I will have graduated from technical training at Sam Houston but I will be on an administrative hold for a week or so. After I am done with here I head to a Phase II location, which I do not know where it will be yet, but there has been delays in students advancing to Phase II locations. There are only 6 bases that take Phase II students and those spots have been full and some of the instructors deployed so that takes spots away as well. I may not be explaining it all that well but I hardly know what's going on so it's difficult to explain.
I did manage to make it home for Memorial Day and surprise some family and friends. It turned out to be a much shorter trip than I anticipated and although I tried, I did not manage to make my rounds to see everyone I wanted to. That being said, I had a fantastic and relaxing weekend that was very much needed. The weather was wonderful and I think I was smiling ear to ear the entire time I was there. It almost brought a tear to my eye flying back into NE, when we finally broke under the clouds and I could see my homeland again.
I should be finding out where my Phase II location will be soon, hopefully within this next week and I will make sure to post it up here. Also, photos from my surprise visit home are to follow.
Again, I want to thank everyone for the continued support. You all are never far from my mind.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
And the Duty Station Is...
Yesterday was my momma's birthday and my first day of technical school!
Today was a pretty eventful day as well. Today I found out where I will be stationed. I also went to drill team practice (marching) and as initiation for the new people... I had to march the flight around. It was an absolute train wreck but they expected that and I didn't run them into a wall so it wasn't that bad. After that I went to Jody calling practice and will start calling jodys on the way to school on Monday.
I am typing this out on my phone so I'm not sure how it'll turn out... Internet here is a bit of a weird situation... But I'll try my best to keep y'all informed.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be pushed up in class due to my certifications. I will be skipping the EMT portion and going onto the nursing portion. After that, I will go into phase 2 which will be 30 days at a major hospital in one of six places somewhere around the continental US. I will find out where that will be later.
As a prequel to my news I must say: I did not get an overseas assignment and although I was disappointed for a whole minute I am pleased with my assignment and listening to others, I got one of the better ones. There will be other chances for me to be assigned overseas and I can always hop a plane for a weekend and chill somewhere awesome.
So, without further ado... My first permanent duty stationed is (as of now) scheduled to be... Buckley AFB in Aurora, Colorado. Looks like I'll be hanging out with Joe more often :)
Today was a pretty eventful day as well. Today I found out where I will be stationed. I also went to drill team practice (marching) and as initiation for the new people... I had to march the flight around. It was an absolute train wreck but they expected that and I didn't run them into a wall so it wasn't that bad. After that I went to Jody calling practice and will start calling jodys on the way to school on Monday.
I am typing this out on my phone so I'm not sure how it'll turn out... Internet here is a bit of a weird situation... But I'll try my best to keep y'all informed.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be pushed up in class due to my certifications. I will be skipping the EMT portion and going onto the nursing portion. After that, I will go into phase 2 which will be 30 days at a major hospital in one of six places somewhere around the continental US. I will find out where that will be later.
As a prequel to my news I must say: I did not get an overseas assignment and although I was disappointed for a whole minute I am pleased with my assignment and listening to others, I got one of the better ones. There will be other chances for me to be assigned overseas and I can always hop a plane for a weekend and chill somewhere awesome.
So, without further ado... My first permanent duty stationed is (as of now) scheduled to be... Buckley AFB in Aurora, Colorado. Looks like I'll be hanging out with Joe more often :)
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Hello from Fort Sam Houston!!!
Summing up BMT - Well that sucked... on to bigger better things.
I am now on the other side of San Antonio and on an Army post. Technical Training has a whole different feel to it but a welcomed change. I am on Initial Training Phase (ITP) now which means that I have to stay on base and if I go outside I must be in uniform and march around at all times, and no alcohol. After a few weeks upto a month, I will be on Advanced Training Phase (ATP) which means I can wear civilian clothes out on base and leave base... and have a cool beer. Sweet, sweet beer. As my brother so lovingly pointed out at Lackland, Abita beer is big around these parts and everywhere has it. For those of you that don't know, Abita beer is my favorite brewing company.
When a group of us go places instead of an element, it is now called a small marching unit (SMU). As an A1C, I am more likely to direct the marching of a SMU. I have seen my cadence voice transform from quiet and drawn out to loud, sharp, and more TI-ish than ever before. I did get a "good job" from a Master Sgt the other day for my cadence calling skills though so I can't complain. I went to a jody calling meeting the other day as well. Jodys are the chants that are called out as a group is marching.
Sorry if this is all a bit scattered... I don't have my own internet here so I am down in the computer lab with about 20 other people who are blasting about 4 different songs and being loud making it a bit hard to concentrate.
Zach Schussler (the only other person from NE, and the one I flew in with) is at Sam Houston as well. It's nice to have someone else who misses Omaha as much as I do :)
As many of you have gathered from my mom's posts, Flight B292 won PT Excellence, gained Warrior Flight status, and was awarded Honor Flight for being the best of the best! I got Honor Graduate and was the top trainee of the 323rd Training Squadron.
My address here is:
A1C Addison Elizabeth M
3288 Johnson Rd
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234
It was absolutely fantastic getting mail from everyone at BMT and I cannot thank y'all enough for the support. One thing I will say about mail here at Tech school is that it is a cluster. Mail for about 2,000 students comes into one center and all 2,000 students have about 2 hrs to pick that mail up. Needless to say, students around here complain about the mail situation all the time and say that not only is it a pain to go get, it is slow as heck. That being said... my email is e.addison89@gmail.com and my Skype username may be e.addison...
Well, more later
-Elly
Summing up BMT - Well that sucked... on to bigger better things.
I am now on the other side of San Antonio and on an Army post. Technical Training has a whole different feel to it but a welcomed change. I am on Initial Training Phase (ITP) now which means that I have to stay on base and if I go outside I must be in uniform and march around at all times, and no alcohol. After a few weeks upto a month, I will be on Advanced Training Phase (ATP) which means I can wear civilian clothes out on base and leave base... and have a cool beer. Sweet, sweet beer. As my brother so lovingly pointed out at Lackland, Abita beer is big around these parts and everywhere has it. For those of you that don't know, Abita beer is my favorite brewing company.
When a group of us go places instead of an element, it is now called a small marching unit (SMU). As an A1C, I am more likely to direct the marching of a SMU. I have seen my cadence voice transform from quiet and drawn out to loud, sharp, and more TI-ish than ever before. I did get a "good job" from a Master Sgt the other day for my cadence calling skills though so I can't complain. I went to a jody calling meeting the other day as well. Jodys are the chants that are called out as a group is marching.
Sorry if this is all a bit scattered... I don't have my own internet here so I am down in the computer lab with about 20 other people who are blasting about 4 different songs and being loud making it a bit hard to concentrate.
Zach Schussler (the only other person from NE, and the one I flew in with) is at Sam Houston as well. It's nice to have someone else who misses Omaha as much as I do :)
As many of you have gathered from my mom's posts, Flight B292 won PT Excellence, gained Warrior Flight status, and was awarded Honor Flight for being the best of the best! I got Honor Graduate and was the top trainee of the 323rd Training Squadron.
My address here is:
A1C Addison Elizabeth M
3288 Johnson Rd
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234
It was absolutely fantastic getting mail from everyone at BMT and I cannot thank y'all enough for the support. One thing I will say about mail here at Tech school is that it is a cluster. Mail for about 2,000 students comes into one center and all 2,000 students have about 2 hrs to pick that mail up. Needless to say, students around here complain about the mail situation all the time and say that not only is it a pain to go get, it is slow as heck. That being said... my email is e.addison89@gmail.com and my Skype username may be e.addison...
Well, more later
-Elly
Saturday, April 21, 2012
This is probably the last "mom entry" in the blog. Elly will be able to update it herself soon. I wanted to add a few things while we are in Texas. We arrived at Lackland Air Force base on Thursday morning just in time to see the airmen do the "Airmen's Run". (We had talked to Elly on Wednesday for a few minutes so she knew we made it safely.) She saw us in the crowd and we were so glad. She kept her military face on but it was fun to see her eyes light up! Afterwards we went to a special area for the Coining Ceremony. We were surprised and especially proud to find that she earned the title of Honor Graduate. The top 10% of the airmen earned this distinction. The Honor Grads marched in first and got a special coin. She also has a special bar on her shirt to represent this honor. Families of the Honor Graduates sat behind the flag pole so we got an excellent view of her. Afterwards she went over to play with the band. She got another coin at that time for completing BMT. After the ceremony she returned her cymbals.Then I got to get a HUG!!! (The first of many!!) We spent the day on the base. Here is a picture of Elly and her proud parents.
The Graduation Ceremony was on Friday. Both ceremonies - Thursday and Friday - made us proud to be Americans and so proud of our daughter. Celebrating with Elly, besides her parents, are both sets of her grandparents, her brother and Jen, a good friend of Elly's.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
We got another letter from Elly. We have also talked to her since I last updated the blog.
While shooting with her gun she got 19 out of 24 shots. Unfortunately that wasn't the 22 shots she needed for marksmanship. She did do better than the girl next to her. She heard the TI ask, "How have you not shot this target at all?"
Grandpa Bob remembered having 49 holes in the target out of his 24 shots - evidently the guy next to him couldn't tell which target was his.
Elly called on April 1st. Her TI told them they got to call home and when they all got out their phones he said April Fools. (The girls didn't see the humor.) Then he said, not really. Make your calls. She said she was going to trick us by telling us she was recycled, but decided that wouldn't be funny either.
She also called after BEAST WEEK, which is like a mock deployment...sleeping in tents, shooting guns, etc. She said it was "Awesome", "Her favorite week", "she loved it". (We are hoping she didn't have heat stroke or something.) In her letter she wrote about BEAST WEEK. She tells that she was in the unit with Zach Schusler's flight, a young man she was sworn in with in Omaha. She said it was fun to talk to someone from Omaha again. He asked if she missed Runza. She laughed and agreed with him. He said others just don't get it. She wrote - my favorite, most memorable part of BEAST was when we were brought to the area where we did PT under an area and all 12 flights (roughly 600 trainees) stood at parade rest while a Chief Master Sgt. gave us a motivational talk. It totally got me pumped up and really proud of what I am doing. Then they had us all turn around and there was a giant American flag hanging down from the rafters. They played some patriotic country music while they came down the rows and handed us our dog tags. It was a definite "choke up" moment.
Elly's flight didn't get their tags from their TI (her TI was at another ceremony) and since they got 2 girls recycled into their flight, they were 2 tags short...so the dude that passed ours out didn't figure that one out and since I was 1st and they went in opposite roster order, I didn't actually get one. When we were heading back to our zone, the girl that got mine handed it over...but overall, it is a powerful moment that will stick with me.
Elly is graduating this weekend - April 20th. We are very excited to see her! Thanks to everyone who has written to Elly and remembered her in your prayers. It means a lot to all of us!
While shooting with her gun she got 19 out of 24 shots. Unfortunately that wasn't the 22 shots she needed for marksmanship. She did do better than the girl next to her. She heard the TI ask, "How have you not shot this target at all?"
Grandpa Bob remembered having 49 holes in the target out of his 24 shots - evidently the guy next to him couldn't tell which target was his.
Elly called on April 1st. Her TI told them they got to call home and when they all got out their phones he said April Fools. (The girls didn't see the humor.) Then he said, not really. Make your calls. She said she was going to trick us by telling us she was recycled, but decided that wouldn't be funny either.
She also called after BEAST WEEK, which is like a mock deployment...sleeping in tents, shooting guns, etc. She said it was "Awesome", "Her favorite week", "she loved it". (We are hoping she didn't have heat stroke or something.) In her letter she wrote about BEAST WEEK. She tells that she was in the unit with Zach Schusler's flight, a young man she was sworn in with in Omaha. She said it was fun to talk to someone from Omaha again. He asked if she missed Runza. She laughed and agreed with him. He said others just don't get it. She wrote - my favorite, most memorable part of BEAST was when we were brought to the area where we did PT under an area and all 12 flights (roughly 600 trainees) stood at parade rest while a Chief Master Sgt. gave us a motivational talk. It totally got me pumped up and really proud of what I am doing. Then they had us all turn around and there was a giant American flag hanging down from the rafters. They played some patriotic country music while they came down the rows and handed us our dog tags. It was a definite "choke up" moment.
Elly's flight didn't get their tags from their TI (her TI was at another ceremony) and since they got 2 girls recycled into their flight, they were 2 tags short...so the dude that passed ours out didn't figure that one out and since I was 1st and they went in opposite roster order, I didn't actually get one. When we were heading back to our zone, the girl that got mine handed it over...but overall, it is a powerful moment that will stick with me.
Elly is graduating this weekend - April 20th. We are very excited to see her! Thanks to everyone who has written to Elly and remembered her in your prayers. It means a lot to all of us!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
We got another letter from Elly today! It answered several questions that I have been wondering about.
19 March 12
Hi guys! So we did the gas chamber today. For some reason I didn't think it would affect me too much...it did...We had the full gear on, which is pants, jacket (with hood), mask and gloves. We went into the chamber and did some jumping jacks then they had us one by one take off the mask, take a big breath and say our reporting statement. I did not expect it to choke me up as much as it did but once I was out my respirations cleared up quickly, I just could not physically keep my eyes open and blink which will make it better. When we were in there, 2 rows of people were on either side of the wall. When it was our turn to take off our mask 2 people walked up to a set of green footprints, took off the mask, took a deep breath while holding our arms to our chest, said our reporting statement, got the thumbs up (or down) from the instructor, then had to CALMLY WALK out. Once outside we put our arms out to make a "T" and took a few laps around a lot to "air out". Backing up...when it was my turn, I was waiting for the other girl to go and she was waiting for me to go...ended up having to take 2 big breaths (which as previously mentioned really burns). I guess there was a guy taping it as we went out...I'm sure I look awesome, eyes all red, tearing, unable to hold them open, mouth wide open gasping for breath and coughing, arms spread out like an idiot blindly walking toward someone's voice. :)
We are having a tornado warning now and have 89 girls jammed in the hall and bathroom of one of the dorms. I have no fear but I do find it a tad bit funny that for some of the girls, this is their first tornado warning and they are absolutely flipping out. Yep, I'm definitely getting to where I know who annoys the crap out of me and who doesn't... What keeps me sane (for the most part) is that I only have roughly a month left.
20 March 12
Tornado warning got called off.. We were packing for the obstacle course that was supposed to be today. Unfortunately, they called it off because of thunder and lightning until approx. 0500. We were up at 0345 to get our dorm all set and we were going to leave at 0600. The weather is beautiful now (1025) but as you know, they already called it off and don't really call it back on. I hear if a flight misses it they cannot reschedule it and that makes me very let down because I was really looking forward to it. Nothing I can do about it though so I won't dwell. Instead, today we took apart and reassembled our weapons. Honestly, not as hard as I thought it would be, now just a matter of cutting my time down.
Yesterday we got MRE's for lunch and they were pretty great. They had coffee in them so I was ecstatic about that.
25 March 12
This week has gone by pretty quickly...After I got off the phone with you we went to chow and I got called to the snake pit and a high up guy asked how things were with one trainee. (I told you guys that we were just talking in the dayroom about a problem child in the dorm) I didn't lie and told it how it was, some other people were called up as well and she was recycled. I feel a bit bad for it...but actually not really. Our marching has already been better, our attitude has been better too.
Our TI asked us yesterday what we talk about when he's not around. Our answer, chow. It is said (and is totally true) that we live from chow to chow and day to day. The new craze is toppings at breakfast. Toppings being like the cherry pie filling that we put on cheesecake at home. They have cherry, apple, peach and blueberry depending on the day. The best is the blueberry (I think) and goes exceedingly well on a biscuit or pancakes. I like having oatmeal during the weekdays with cinnamon, peanut better and honey in it ... or some toppings. :) On the weekend is when I splurge and will have pancakes or french toast...with toppings. :) Even though things are mass produced, everything is pretty decent. Our TI (before he was a TI) was a fitness specialist so he makes sure we eat healthily and he knows that chocolate milk has the carbs, sugar, calcium...etc. so that it is like a protein shake after working out. Long story short, we get to drink chocolate milk!
The BX is like a Walgreen's with more military geared stuff. I hang out with Mitchell, Sullivan and Humphry quite a bit. Humphry is a chapel guide so she was gone the majority of today (Sunday). Mitchell, Sullivan and I marched over to the BX for some supplies. It is definitely warming up here. We went about 1000 and it was already warm and humid. I thought in my head "it's gonna be hot in the big silver pot" today. Mom note: This is from Little Mermaid and we have said it since we saw the movie when Elly was a little girl. While we were at the BX we saw an entire aisle filled with chocolate and other bad for you junk food. On the list of things I miss...
1. You guys (obviously)
2. Chocolate
3. Strawberry ice cream
4. Music
5. alcohol
6. Personal space
7. Quiet time
Well, this list could go on for awhile... haha
19 March 12
Hi guys! So we did the gas chamber today. For some reason I didn't think it would affect me too much...it did...We had the full gear on, which is pants, jacket (with hood), mask and gloves. We went into the chamber and did some jumping jacks then they had us one by one take off the mask, take a big breath and say our reporting statement. I did not expect it to choke me up as much as it did but once I was out my respirations cleared up quickly, I just could not physically keep my eyes open and blink which will make it better. When we were in there, 2 rows of people were on either side of the wall. When it was our turn to take off our mask 2 people walked up to a set of green footprints, took off the mask, took a deep breath while holding our arms to our chest, said our reporting statement, got the thumbs up (or down) from the instructor, then had to CALMLY WALK out. Once outside we put our arms out to make a "T" and took a few laps around a lot to "air out". Backing up...when it was my turn, I was waiting for the other girl to go and she was waiting for me to go...ended up having to take 2 big breaths (which as previously mentioned really burns). I guess there was a guy taping it as we went out...I'm sure I look awesome, eyes all red, tearing, unable to hold them open, mouth wide open gasping for breath and coughing, arms spread out like an idiot blindly walking toward someone's voice. :)
We are having a tornado warning now and have 89 girls jammed in the hall and bathroom of one of the dorms. I have no fear but I do find it a tad bit funny that for some of the girls, this is their first tornado warning and they are absolutely flipping out. Yep, I'm definitely getting to where I know who annoys the crap out of me and who doesn't... What keeps me sane (for the most part) is that I only have roughly a month left.
20 March 12
Tornado warning got called off.. We were packing for the obstacle course that was supposed to be today. Unfortunately, they called it off because of thunder and lightning until approx. 0500. We were up at 0345 to get our dorm all set and we were going to leave at 0600. The weather is beautiful now (1025) but as you know, they already called it off and don't really call it back on. I hear if a flight misses it they cannot reschedule it and that makes me very let down because I was really looking forward to it. Nothing I can do about it though so I won't dwell. Instead, today we took apart and reassembled our weapons. Honestly, not as hard as I thought it would be, now just a matter of cutting my time down.
Yesterday we got MRE's for lunch and they were pretty great. They had coffee in them so I was ecstatic about that.
25 March 12
This week has gone by pretty quickly...After I got off the phone with you we went to chow and I got called to the snake pit and a high up guy asked how things were with one trainee. (I told you guys that we were just talking in the dayroom about a problem child in the dorm) I didn't lie and told it how it was, some other people were called up as well and she was recycled. I feel a bit bad for it...but actually not really. Our marching has already been better, our attitude has been better too.
Our TI asked us yesterday what we talk about when he's not around. Our answer, chow. It is said (and is totally true) that we live from chow to chow and day to day. The new craze is toppings at breakfast. Toppings being like the cherry pie filling that we put on cheesecake at home. They have cherry, apple, peach and blueberry depending on the day. The best is the blueberry (I think) and goes exceedingly well on a biscuit or pancakes. I like having oatmeal during the weekdays with cinnamon, peanut better and honey in it ... or some toppings. :) On the weekend is when I splurge and will have pancakes or french toast...with toppings. :) Even though things are mass produced, everything is pretty decent. Our TI (before he was a TI) was a fitness specialist so he makes sure we eat healthily and he knows that chocolate milk has the carbs, sugar, calcium...etc. so that it is like a protein shake after working out. Long story short, we get to drink chocolate milk!
The BX is like a Walgreen's with more military geared stuff. I hang out with Mitchell, Sullivan and Humphry quite a bit. Humphry is a chapel guide so she was gone the majority of today (Sunday). Mitchell, Sullivan and I marched over to the BX for some supplies. It is definitely warming up here. We went about 1000 and it was already warm and humid. I thought in my head "it's gonna be hot in the big silver pot" today. Mom note: This is from Little Mermaid and we have said it since we saw the movie when Elly was a little girl. While we were at the BX we saw an entire aisle filled with chocolate and other bad for you junk food. On the list of things I miss...
1. You guys (obviously)
2. Chocolate
3. Strawberry ice cream
4. Music
5. alcohol
6. Personal space
7. Quiet time
Well, this list could go on for awhile... haha
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