Why'd you join the Air Force?
Today I've been reminded why I joined the Air Force. Let me first say that I get the title question all the time. The conversation usually starts with someone asking where I am from. To which I either reply, "nowhere" or "the army." After both responses the inquirer's face requires me to explain further. I, obligingly, reply, "My dad was in the Army, so we moved all over the place." Then comes the title questions, often with a, "If your dad was in the Army, ..." prefix. Which brings us back to the beginning of my post.
I am at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey for a class this week. I had the option to to go California for this class or come out here. Since my parents only live 3 hours from here, I thought it would be great to take the family out to visit with my parents, drop them off and come to my class and then spend a few more days in Maryland before heading back home.
I left my parents house 4 hours ago and was able to find Fort Monmouth without too much difficulty (though, it seems like there was a toll every 10 miles--thanks Mom!--I'm driving her car with an EZ pass on it). As I was pulling up to the gate here on post I was reminded of my answer(s) to the question.
My dad was in the army the majority of my childhood (in fact, the majority of my life--he retired when I was 21). I visited him at work occasionally as a kid and never thought much of it until we moved to Germany. In Germany we lived close to Ramstein Air Force Base. My dad worked at Landstuhl Army Hospital. Because of where we lived and because there was no middle or high school at Landstuhl, we went to school at Ramstein. We also did all our shopping and "hanging out" there. My friends dad's worked there and I eventually worked a few jobs there, too. As I got to go around the base I began to notice something interesting. People at Ramstein seemed happy and people at Landstuhl seemed irritated. I also noticed that the world seemed nicer at Ramstein. As I payed more attention to it, I realized that the landscaping, the buildings, the roads, and just about everything was nicer at Ramstein than at Landstuhl.
I remember a conversation I had with my dad about this disparity once and he explained something like this: Each branch of the service gets money for stuff each year. The Army and the Navy spend their money improving/maintaining their equipment and training. Towards the end of the year, they realize they don't have enough money to improve their facilities. They go and ask for more money to make those improvements and are told no. The Air Force does the opposite. They take their money, improve the bases and facilities, run out of money and ask for more money to take care of their planes--and they get it. While this might not be exactly, true, it sure seems like it.
So, why did I join the Air Force? Because my dad was in the Army. I'm a pansy and spoiled and I'd like to stay that way. I have heard of Air Force personnel being stationed at Navy facilities and getting additional allowances because the Air Force deemed the housing facilities "inadequate." These were the same facilities that all the Navy personnel lived in and they didn't get any compensation.
So, as I said, I am spoiled. I'm on the third story of a hotel with no elevators. The room feels barren--I can hear my own echo when I talk. The toilet paper is out of reach for the people that need it the most. The lighting is rotten. The post has one-way streets that make it difficult to get around and feels like it was built 100 years ago (I'll bet it was, actually...I just looked it up--1917, so not quite 100 years old http://www.monmouth.army.mil/historian/history.php).
To end this, I'll share a joke I once heard that is now even more funny to me than when I first heard it.
You've got 3 guys--a marine, a soldier, and an airmen. The marine is dashing between buildings, dodging sniper fire. Under his breath he can be heard saying, "I love this crap!" The soldier is sweating, wearing his body armor, manning the gun at the top of a vehicle, returning fire to a group of insurgents, shouting, "I love this crap!" The airman is sitting in his hotel room, with the front desk on the line in one hand and a broken remote control in the other saying, "What is this crap?"
I am at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey for a class this week. I had the option to to go California for this class or come out here. Since my parents only live 3 hours from here, I thought it would be great to take the family out to visit with my parents, drop them off and come to my class and then spend a few more days in Maryland before heading back home.
I left my parents house 4 hours ago and was able to find Fort Monmouth without too much difficulty (though, it seems like there was a toll every 10 miles--thanks Mom!--I'm driving her car with an EZ pass on it). As I was pulling up to the gate here on post I was reminded of my answer(s) to the question.
My dad was in the army the majority of my childhood (in fact, the majority of my life--he retired when I was 21). I visited him at work occasionally as a kid and never thought much of it until we moved to Germany. In Germany we lived close to Ramstein Air Force Base. My dad worked at Landstuhl Army Hospital. Because of where we lived and because there was no middle or high school at Landstuhl, we went to school at Ramstein. We also did all our shopping and "hanging out" there. My friends dad's worked there and I eventually worked a few jobs there, too. As I got to go around the base I began to notice something interesting. People at Ramstein seemed happy and people at Landstuhl seemed irritated. I also noticed that the world seemed nicer at Ramstein. As I payed more attention to it, I realized that the landscaping, the buildings, the roads, and just about everything was nicer at Ramstein than at Landstuhl.
I remember a conversation I had with my dad about this disparity once and he explained something like this: Each branch of the service gets money for stuff each year. The Army and the Navy spend their money improving/maintaining their equipment and training. Towards the end of the year, they realize they don't have enough money to improve their facilities. They go and ask for more money to make those improvements and are told no. The Air Force does the opposite. They take their money, improve the bases and facilities, run out of money and ask for more money to take care of their planes--and they get it. While this might not be exactly, true, it sure seems like it.
So, why did I join the Air Force? Because my dad was in the Army. I'm a pansy and spoiled and I'd like to stay that way. I have heard of Air Force personnel being stationed at Navy facilities and getting additional allowances because the Air Force deemed the housing facilities "inadequate." These were the same facilities that all the Navy personnel lived in and they didn't get any compensation.
So, as I said, I am spoiled. I'm on the third story of a hotel with no elevators. The room feels barren--I can hear my own echo when I talk. The toilet paper is out of reach for the people that need it the most. The lighting is rotten. The post has one-way streets that make it difficult to get around and feels like it was built 100 years ago (I'll bet it was, actually...I just looked it up--1917, so not quite 100 years old http://www.monmouth.army.mil/historian/history.php).
To end this, I'll share a joke I once heard that is now even more funny to me than when I first heard it.
You've got 3 guys--a marine, a soldier, and an airmen. The marine is dashing between buildings, dodging sniper fire. Under his breath he can be heard saying, "I love this crap!" The soldier is sweating, wearing his body armor, manning the gun at the top of a vehicle, returning fire to a group of insurgents, shouting, "I love this crap!" The airman is sitting in his hotel room, with the front desk on the line in one hand and a broken remote control in the other saying, "What is this crap?"
Comments
Plus, after watching Maverik, Goose, and Iceman in the skies, how could you want to do anything else? -Jester (no, not from Top Gun...your brother-in-law)
Jason says that everytime they went to the field they were jealous of the airmen because they were in hotels while everyone else was in tents. And that meant the airmen got to shower regularly...I would NOT want to be sleeping in those tents!