My Son Chose the Military
When my kids were in elementary school (they are all teenagers now), I always thought they would graduate from high school and move on to college. Over the years, I softened on the idea that my kids were required to be university bound. BUT I still felt that college would be the route each of my 3 children would pursue. Even though they weren’t always truly excited about school, they managed.
Then something happened. The pandemic. Covid-19 sucked. It literally siphoned out what little interest these kids had in school at all. Online class, while it seemed convenient, proved to be the catalyst to laziness for my kids. I mean, when you know that you can just roll out of bed and go to class, why roll at all? Just keep your Zoom camera off and lay on your side IN your bed while pretending to pay attention. Online class was not the business for the Roberts kids. I believe this era was the turning point for my oldest. He was a junior in high school when the world shut down. He began his senior year taking online classes. Prior to the pandemic, he was an honor student. Online learning changed that along with any desire for continued education.
You Gotta Do Something!
My hubby Brian really took the wheel on this one. He planned a trip for them to visit his alma mater, Morehouse. We thought it might interest him to get out of state. Plus, Brian had friends whose sons were students there. I then took him to a school in So Cal that was about an hour away from home. After months of us trying to get him excited about college, it turned into an irritation to the point where he finally blurted out, “I guess I’ll go to college somewhere since you guys are forcing me to do this.” That wasn’t exactly what we wanted to hear.
Brian decided to take him to meet with an Air Force recruiter. Our son left that meeting saying, “I’m low-key interested.” That’s all he needed to say. The meetings with the recruiter continued. Things got real when our son was required to stay overnight to take a physical and an aptitude exam at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Next, our son was required to review the careers of interest for which he was eligible to apply based on the results of his exam. Air Traffic Control was his top choice, but since it’s a popular job, he landed his third choice – Aircraft Loadmaster. We learned that you have to test well on math for this job. Not surprising…our son was a math whiz in school. Once we found out this role became available, the date he was to depart to basic training was set – February 14th!
Aircraft Loadmaster
The opportunity to travel, study, receive a salary along with future benefits seemed more appealing to him than acquiring student loans to sit in your typical classroom in a college setting. I can’t say that I blame him. His decision to choose the Air Force was a reminder of his intellect. He makes smart choices (most of the time :).
Leaving for San Antonio
The date was set. I thought to myself, “Really? February 14th!? Come on recruiter! You’re taking my heart on THIS day?” I wanted to make sure we sent him with love, so we had a couple of sendoff parties in his honor. One with family and one with friends.
TIP: If you have a loved one leaving for the military, you’ll be tempted to send him/her away with all kinds of gifts and comforts from home. Your friends and family will ask what he/she needs. DON’T DO IT! Don’t make them be the person to show up to basic training with too much stuff. Click HERE if you want to check out what’s provided and what not to bring. You’re welcome!
I did get the idea to get him a journal (like THIS one -this is a paid link through Amazon) thinking that, since he wouldn’t have his phone, he would want to write, and the journal would fit easily in a backpack. After I purchased the journal, without telling him that I bought him one, I asked him if he would write while he was in training. His response was a straight up, “No.” (LOL) Since the journal was already ordered and, on its way, I figured I’d just have everyone write him a note of encouragement and send it with him anyway. Like a dummy, I read what my family wrote and was in tears almost every day before his departure.
Not only did I have to ship my son off on Valentine’s Day, but we weren’t allowed to take him to the airport. We were required to drop him off at a hotel near the airport the day before. Talk about crushed. Now we had to wait until he landed and get the call that he arrived okay.
When he landed, he was only given 15 seconds (yes, literally 15 seconds) to let us know he made it safely. I eagerly waited for my phone to ring and when it did, you would have thought I hadn’t spoken to him in months the amount of joy I felt in that moment. “Hey Mom, we landed. I’m here in San Antonio….” then I could hear the person in charge in the background counting loudly…7….6….5….4….3….2. I didn’t even get to hear “1.”
He hung up on 2. My son was not messing around with following commands. I thought, he’s going to be just fine.
Air Force Basic Military Training
Brian called me a helicopter parent because admittedly, I downloaded and made an account on the Aim High app (which is a recruiting tool not intended for stalking Moms). I searched social media and found a Facebook group run by BMT administrators.
The Facebook page was a great tool because the admins would post very valuable and helpful information you’d need to know before going to the graduation. And the members could ask questions, vent about missing their loved one and share their experiences at graduation. I’m so grateful for this group.
I read articles and looked at every video on YouTube and on the official US Air Force website about BMT. I also learned about and downloaded the Sandboxx app which proved to be an excellent and more efficient way to send letters to him. I was even able to include a return stamped envelope so he could reply.
Listen, you’re about to send your child off on a 7.5-week journey to another state and a training that included him being subjected to a gas chamber! I was on the hunt for all the info about what all my kid was about to endure. I’m sure I’m not the only Mom who would do this.
Since the new recruits are not allowed to have their phones, I was on high alert to make sure I didn’t miss his call because they literally are given minutes to talk. His first call came in about a week into BMT. On this call he gave us his squadron and flight numbers and where to send him letters. He was in 321 TRS/FLT 246. The squadrons even have mascots. Squadron 321 were the Warthogs. Hmmm….I’ll just leave that there. Pumba.
We received our second call on Saturday, March 11th. It was the week 3 call. You would have thought he had been overseas for 3 months how excited I was to see his name and image pop up on my phone. Brian and I were cleaning the garage when he called. We were happy to learn that he had done well on his first PT (Physical Training) test and that, so far, BMT wasn’t as bad as he thought.
The first letter we received from him included our passes for graduation. Before he left, the recruiter required us to give the names, birthdates and social security numbers of the people 18+ that were planning to attend the graduation. Makes sense. They must do background checks on everyone before they can be on the base.
First pic I found in the Aim High app.
In the Aim High app, they’ll post photos during BMT. I was lucky to find pics of our son in the first set of photos they posted. Brian called me a stalker, but he sure did love seeing the photos I would find. Between the few phone calls we received from him (about 5 total), I was in this app. Daily.
At first, 7.5 weeks seemed like it was going to be a long time, but before I knew it, I was checking into my flight to head to San Antonio to tap out my Airman.
I Have an Airman Now!
The graduation was over 2 days (Wednesday & Thursday). They do the Airmen’s Run and Coin Ceremony on Wednesday and the Parade on Thursday. On Wednesday after the ceremony, they get a town pass for the day. It was so cool to see my son run with his fellow Airmen yelling “jodies.” Jodies are the chants that they recite while running. Then to see him dressed up in his blues and march in and hit that quarter turn to the front all sharp like a soldier. The cheerleader in me really enjoyed that! LOL
Thursday following the ceremony, you can spend the day with your Airman on base. However, Mother Nature had other plans and sent cold rain to San Antonio on Thursday, so they went to Plan B which meant they recorded the ceremony in an enclosed area and posted the video. Not ideal but since it was inclement weather, another town pass was granted so we were able to spend time with him off base again.
The best thing we did was reserve an Airbnb that was relatively close to base. It was perfect! Our Airman had his own room and was able to relax and catch up with friends after answering our 8 million questions about his BMT experience.
Post BMT Grad - Now What?
The Airmen are completely done with BMT on Thursday, and they report to tech school the very next day. Tech school is where they learn about their specific career. Many of them leave the base and head to a different state but, our son’s tech school was on the same base in San Antonio.
He would have one week before he begins officially attending class. He shared with us that he’d heard he might have to clean toilets for a week. We sure hope not, but at least he’ll know how to do it.
He also shared with us that he was a little nervous. We reminded him that he’d just been through the toughest part of his training and that it was natural to feel anxious about the unknown. It’s okay and that this is an exciting time for him.
Take Aways from this Experience
DON’T SEND TOO MUCH STUFF
We should have listened to the recruiter when he said not to send him with too much stuff. I’m reiterating that here for those of you sending anyone off to BMT. They are issued so many items and you don’t want them to have to worry about all that extra stuff when they are transitioning from BMT to the tech school. The things we did send him with were a new pair of running shoes, a basic watch and compression underwear which were the most practical and much needed items.
Click HERE for a list of items that is provided and what you can bring. Yes, it’s the same link as above but I’m serious about this. LOL
USELESS ATTENTION GRABBING
Graduation Attendees :)
I wanted him to be able to see us in the stands so I cut out his initials in bright neon posterboard and laminated them because I saw that it was supposed to rain AND made sure everyone wore neon yellow shirts so that he would see us in the crowd. That was useless. He was instructed to stay focused and not be distracted. He never looked up. He didn’t see us until we tapped him out.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
What my son has learned in BMT has helped him evolve into an even more thoughtful and respectful young man. He carried himself with more confidence and I couldn’t get over his “yes ma’ams and yes sirs" and holding the door open for us everywhere we went. I’m impressed with their ability to instill these characteristics over a short period of time. Also, my son did end up journaling and gave it to me after graduation as a gift.
OPEN MINDEDNESS
Before now I didn’t think once about the military being an option for my kids, but now I think it almost makes more sense because at least you can still get an education and not graduate in debt. Not to mention the future benefits while serving your country.
RENEWED AMERICAN SPIRIT
I’ve always respected service men and women but now, I have a newfound patriotism that, to be honest, had been waning over the last few years for reasons that would require a whole other blog post.
My Airman
A NEW LEVEL OF PRIDE
I am extremely proud of my son for making the decision to move forward in his life journey. I know that it takes a lot of courage to take that step especially when choosing further education and training through the U.S. Armed Forces. The level of pride I felt to see him march side by side with his flight and stand at attention was incredible. His interest in upholding a Constitution and National Anthem that says all the right things but has not been demonstrated by all takes bravery and it made me think. This could be an amazing country and I think the youth of today realize this. I believe my son and his peers will help make this country a place where the words, “with liberty and justice for all” will be true for all.