I'm Finished!

Hello again!

I apologize for not blogging for the past six months, but I can assure you those months were not wasted. They were six very stressful, very busy month! I don't even know where to begin because there is so much catching up to do!

First off, I am proud to announce that I am graduating next week from C-2A AWF Fleet Replacement School (the school I was talking about in my last blog)! It's so exciting to look back at that blog, and see how far I've come and how much I've learned. So I suppose I should tell you a little about what I did in those six months of school.

There are three parts of this school: ground phase, flight phase and getting qualified in a variety of different things. In January, I began ground phase. Ground phase consisted of eight tests in nine weeks. It started off pretty simple, just learning the basics of the aircraft. Then, it got pretty in depth and we had to learn everything about every single system; hydraulics system, power plant systems, environment control system, electrical system, cargo loading/unloading, passenger handling, aircraft limitations. It went from knowing all of the components of the engine, to memorizing every switch in the cockpit, to knowing what to do in every emergency procedure, and so much more! For me, it was sooo interesting to learn about, and I always found myself wanting to dig into the information even deeper than what the instructors taught us. I believe that's why I did so well in this school, because I found a passion for it.

After our sixth test, my class (there are six of us) and I went on a 10 day detachment where we learned how to use support equipment, do fuel surveillance, oil consumption, and how to be a plane captain. We actually got to do some launches as a plane captain. A plane captain is the person who stands out in front of the aircraft, working with the ground crew and telling the pilots when to taxi forward, check certain lights, spread wings, move the flight surfaces, and so much more. It was one of the coolest things I've done in my life. You feel so import, everyone's eyes on you. everyone watching your every command. I loved it. Sadly, those 10 days had to end and I had to fly back to Norfolk to finish the rest of ground phase and then move into flight phase. I learned so much on that detachment, and it was the first time I really got hands on training with the C-2! I came back with a whole new understanding of the aircraft and what my job was really going to be like as a C-2 aircrewman.

So we flew back to Norfolk, finished our last two tests of ground phase, and officially started flight phase. I was so excited, but so nervous.This was the real test. It's easy to be book smart and know the answers to questions, but that's not what flight phase is about. It's about actually performing your duties as a C-2 aircrewman.

Flight phase consisted of 17 flights. With each and every flight, there was a flight syllabus. On the syllabus, it had 4 or 5 subjects to take notes on and certain duties and emergency procedures to perform. On the day of the flight, I would show up two or three hours before brief (where you sit and talk with the pilots about the mission), and make sure I had all my gear and materials needed for the flight. Then the instructors show up and the hell begins. Before the flight, they would grade us on how well we knew the subjects that we had to write about. They could also ask us anything about the aircraft that they wanted to. ANYTHING. On a normal flight I would talk to the pilots over the Internal Communication System (ICS), do in-flight inspections, and perform whatever emergency procedures that my instructors told me to do. Each flight was a new adventure and challenge of it's own.

One flight, I actually got to fly down to St. Augustine, Florida to stop at a private airport and drop off some passengers. We shut down there and went to the downtown area. Driving through St. Augustine was so stunning! Just thinking about breathing in that rich Florida air brings a smile to my face every time. The architecture looked so foreign, and the streets looked like scenes straight out of a movie. We ate lunch at an adorable little outdoor restaurant, draped in vines and flowers. And the food there.... it was so incredibly delicious! One of the coolest parts of the trip was walking around in our flight suits, and getting strange glances from people on the streets. Haha. Unfortunately, we didn't get to explore the city or stop anywhere else other than the restaurant. We had to get back to our plane to fly back to Norfolk. It was a refreshing little trip that awakened the travel bug in me again.

As the flights progressed, they got harder. The instructors expected me to know more, and be more efficient at the duties and emergency procedures. By my last few flights, I began to study so hard that I didn't even leave my room on the weekends. The only times I did leave was for the gym and church. The last few weeks of flight phase were easily the hardest and most stressful days of my life, but I'm thrilled to say that about a month ago, I finally finished flight phase. I cannot tell you how relieved I was and still am to have finished what once felt like a distant dream!

Since my last graded flight, I've been getting officially qualified with support equipment and as a plane captain! Now that I am qualified in all the fields I need to be, I am just waiting for graduation next week Friday!

Fourteen months later, and here I am, at my final school. I am currently stationed in Norfolk, Virginia for my six month FRS (Fleet Replacement School). I arrived here on November 8th, 2014, but I have been put on hold until January 22nd... which is sneaking up fast! I can't wait!

My fourteen months in the Navy have been full of adventures and memories that I could never forget. This is the basic summary of what I have done so far in my Naval career:

• November 20th, 2013- First day of boot camp
• January 17th, 2014- Last day of boot camp, graduation, reunited with my family,  my first day in THU (Temporary Holding Unit) in Great Lakes
  
• March 10th, 2014- Last day in THU, flew to Pensacola, Florida and checked into NACCS (Naval) Aircrew Candidate School) on NAS Pensacola
  
• April something- Met the love of my life [[I love you Chase Turpin]]
  
• April 28th, 2014- First day of class at Naval Aircrew Candidate School
  
• May 15th, 2014- Graduated NACCS [[Hooyah Class 27]]
  
• September 1st, 2014- First day of class for AWF A School
  
• October 20th, 2014- Graduated AWF A School
  
• October 27th, 2014- First day of SERE school (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) in Kittery, Maine
  
• November 7th, 2014- Graduated SERE school [[AMEN!!!]]
  
• November 8th, 2014- Arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, checked into VAW-120, and I've been here since

It is very motivating to look back and see all that I have accomplished, and to know that I only have ONE MORE school left. I'm excited to see how well I will do in this school. If all goes well, I should be graduating in late June or early July. When I graduate, I will be promoted to Petty Officer Third Class, but sadly I won't get my wings of gold just yet.

"For what it's worth; it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again." -F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the fall of 2012, this quote found me at the perfect time. It was my senior year of high school, and the biggest question of my high school career arose; what would I do after graduation? I started my senior year with so many different ideas. I spent countless hours reading about majors, colleges, and job descriptions. I knew I could be anything I wanted to be. It was exciting.

At school I heard about this field trip to a college fair at UW Oshkosh, so I signed myself up. When the day arrived, I was anxious to see what colleges would have booths set up. As I walked around with my friends and talked to representatives, not too much stood out to me. Did I really want to go to college when I still had no idea who or what I wanted to be? Or so I could just waste money earning a major I might not even want? How are you supposed to know the answers when you're only 18 and have lived in a small town your whole life? I wanted to see the world first, to experience things that make you think deeper about life, and ultimately find who I am and what I want to do.

Only one representative at that college fair stood out to me, an army recruiter. I had no intention of talking to this recruiter, I just wanted to pick up a pamphlet for my friend who was interested. As I looked at the pamphlets the recruiter engaged me in conversation. He asked if I was really interested in the military. I laughed and quickly stated that I was only looking at his booth for my friend's sake. He asked if I ever thought about it. I laughed again, and joked that I wasn't tough enough. He began to explain to me that jobs in the military aren't all about the hard grunt work and combat. I never thought of it any other way. It made sense though. You always see the intense commercials of soldiers fighting for our freedom. You never think of the noncombat jobs, the jobs in maintenance, health, or the so called "regular office jobs". This intrigued me, but I still scoffed at the thought of me, a little 5'3" blonde (who was involved in dance and show choir), joining the military.

I went home that day and poured into the countless military websites. I looked at the jobs each branch had to offer, and was delightfully surprised. They even had a Mass Communications Specialist job! And if you know me, then you know how much I love pictures and photojournalism! How great of a job that would be, to travel the world and take pictures?! I had to look deeper into it, so I decided to talk to an Air Force recruiter.

I went into the recruiting station, and was so confused. My parents told me not to make any decisions or sign anything while I was there, so I didn't. The recruiter didn't seem very interested in explaining things to me, so I left that day even more confused about how this whole process worked. It didn't feel like the military was the right choice for me, until my friend who was joining the Navy got me in contact with his recruiter. I set up an appointment to talk to them at the recruiting station. I walked in there, and before leaving the office that day, I knew I wanted to join the Navy. I broke the news to my parents, but I don't think they really believed me.

A few weeks later, I was headed down to Milwaukee to go to MEPS (Military Entrance Program) to take the ASVAB, go through a medical screening, pick a job in the Navy, sign my contract, and swear in to the United States Navy! On November 9th, 2012 I had officially sworn into the world's greatest Navy. I left MEPS with a contract as an Aviation Machinist Mate (AD), but was going to wait for an Aircrew position to open up and then change my rate to FTS (Full Time Support) Naval Aircrewman (AW).

About two months later, after waiting for a clearance, I signed my new aircrew contract and was assigned my ship date; August 20th, 2013. I graduated high school in May of 2013, and was looking forward to leave in August. I was reading more and more about what it meant to be a Naval Aircrewman and I was getting so excited to just get it started! At the end of June, my recruiter got ahold of me and asked if I would like to change my FTS aircrew contract to an active duty contract. I told him yes, but only if that meant I got to keep my aircrew rate. There was only one catch, I would no longer be leaving in August, but my leave date would be pushed back to November 20th, 2013. I decided that was okay. So a few days later, I went back down to MEPS and signed my active duty aircrew contract.

On November 20th, 2013... after a year and 11 days of waiting in DEP (Delayed Entry Program), it was finally my time to ship out for boot camp.