Life in the Air Force

            So we are coming up on our one year anniversary of being in the Air Force.  I’ve realized I’m a very analytical person, because I tend to analyze the good and the bad of whatever situation we are in.  This post will be no exception.  I won’t lie, when we first began this military journey I had a lot of concerns about what would happen.   I had heard a lot of things, good and bad, about life in the military and I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Through these experiences I’ve learned a few things:

11.)  The Air Force is by far the most family friendly military branch.  They really work with your family and your family’s needs.

22.)  The experience in the military is 100% what you make of it.  I’ll be amazed how I and another person will have similar experiences, but they feel like it was very negative, and I’ll feel like it was very positive.  Turns out, we’re both right.  We get out of it what we think of it.

33.)  The Lord is very much in control of our circumstances though we may feel like things are out of control.  I have found if I trust in him, I feel peace despite turmoil. 

If the rest of our military career is a lot like this first year, then we are staying in until he is a general, haha.  There are so many good things about being in the Air Force!  (Now you have to get that this is from the perspective of a missileer’s wife who has only been at two nice bases.  My experience may be vastly different than others.)  First of all, there’s all the benefits.  In addition to the Air Force paying for Joseph’s Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and his basic pay, we get a housing stipend, and a subsistence stipend.  It really adds up to a lot!  The Air Force is the reason we are debt free, and are able to pay for adoption in cash. 

            Also, we get health insurance.  Now for a lot of people, this is good, but for me, this is GREAT!  I tend to be accident/bad health prone, so I can use all the good coverage I can receive.  Get this, my complicated pregnancy/Hyrum’s birth would have cost $10,000 on our old insurance, and $50,000+ without insurance.  We didn’t even see a bill!  I also got to choose my own doctor, and the hospital I delivered in was top notch!  Thank goodness they’ve gotten rid of a lot of military hospitals, haha.

            We chose to live on base here in Cheyenne, and it was a great decision!  Because we didn’t feel financially ready to buy a house, we wanted to rent, and renting here is so expensive!  On base, we received a newly renovated home, right across from the park, two minutes from Joseph’s work, that is at least twice the size of anything we could have rent with our housing stipend.  We have so much room, I don’t know quite what to do with it!

            I also was a bit nervous of the type of people I would meet in the military.  Turns out there is a huge difference between the single airman who are fresh out of high school (which previously was the only military people I had met), and everyone else.  I have yet to meet a family either here or in California who wasn’t just an instant friend.  I think it’s the military culture to think in terms of instant friendship, because we don’t necessarily have long together.  Instead of shying away since we were only going to be in California for a few months, people did just the opposite.  Here it has been the same result.  I feel like I have some of the best friends we have ever made here, and it’s only been three months!  I can’t wait for three more years!

            Joseph also really likes what he is doing.  He basically makes sure that the nuclear missiles are safe and he’ll be the one to launch them if it ever does come to that (thankfully no one has had to really launch a nuclear missile since World War II).  Really, it’s a lot of down time, so Joseph has been working on his masters.  He does have to work 60-70 hours a week, but once you calculate in sleeping and getting his masters, he actually is getting a really good deal.  Joseph is also really good that making sure when he’s home, he’s home.  Days off are strictly for family (and church), and I appreciate that so much!  He also was paired with a really good commander, Zach.  He is incredibly hard-working, has a great reputation, very high moral standards, and has really taken Joseph under his wing.  They will go far together.  Oh and Joseph being out in the missile field counts as a deployment, so he won't have to go anywhere for the next few years at least!

           

            Now there are a lot of hard things about the Air Force.  You really have to give up any semblance of control.  The Air Force puts you where they want you, when they want you there.  Good thing we like Cheyenne so much.  Also, Joseph has a crazy-hectic schedule.  Things are very fluid in the missile field.  Sometimes it works to our advantage, but more often than not, it doesn’t.  Sometimes he can be called out on alert when he is supposed to have a day off, and he usually won’t find out about it until the night before, or even the day of.  Also, sometimes (especially if the kids are sick, or teething, or any of plethora of kid-related issues), it would be nice to have Joseph home instead of being with them straight for 36 hours.  But I know I have it a lot better than many of our friends who’s husbands are out for 4-5 days straight.  I’m learning a lot about myself, and learning to let go of the things that aren’t important while he is gone.  I’ll appreciate the lessons one day.

            Overall, this last year in the military has been great, and we’re seriously considering it as a career now.  We’ll see how these next three go!