Those who serve

[JoBri 545]

I was just thinking about this. My great, great grandfather came to America from Germany as an immigrant, in part because he could see the rise of nationalism sweeping his homeland, and he did not wish for his sons to fight in endless wars. The first generation was spared, in WW1. His sons did not have to go because of age. But then in WW2 it was a different story. His grandson was a bomber pilot and his granddaughter an Army nurse in France, and her husband a Marine Combat Engineer at Corregidor. His great grandson, my dad, was in the Navy in the Korean War. I served during the Cold War and Persian Gulf War.  My one cousin served in the Coast Guard, while my nephew served in the Air Force and at the NSA as a translator/interpreter.  Now, my wife immigrated from the Philippines, and she continues the line of service from her side. Her grandfather was a Filipino Army Major during WW2, and now she is a U.S. Air Force nurse, and served in the War on Terror. And our son, naturally, sees military service in his future, with a desire to attend one of the military academies. There are all ways to serve. But it is ironic, how my great, great German grandfather wished to avoid wars for his sons. German, and now Filipino. Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines. These are the emblems of service that came from the lines of one German immigrant and one Filipino immigrant... merged together. The bottom one is for the Philippines, for my wife's grandfather

Edited December 2, 2021 by JoBri

[JoBri 545]

My wife, from the Philippines, Had to re-invent herself when she came to the USA. In the Philippines she was a teacher, and then was made a Principal. When she came to the USA, it was difficult for her to get a job as a teacher, and difficult for her to meet the state qualifications, but she found she liked health care, while working in an assisted living as a resident assistant. So she got her nursing degree while serving in the Tennessee Air National Guard. When her time was up with the Air National Guard (6 years), she did what she had to do to get a direct commission as an officer on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.

 

Just today, she was promoted to the rank of Captain, here at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. That has been her (our, including myself and our 11 year old son) journey in a nutshell. 

Edited December 5, 2021 by JoBri

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

On 12/5/2021 at 3:12 PM, JoBri said:

My wife, from the Philippines, Had to re-invent herself when she came to the USA. In the Philippines she was a teacher, and then was made a Principal. When she came to the USA, it was difficult for her to get a job as a teacher, and difficult for her to meet the state qualifications, but she found she liked health care, while working in an assisted living as a resident assistant. So she got her nursing degree while serving in the Tennessee Air National Guard. When her time was up with the Air National Guard (6 years), she did what she had to do to get a direct commission as an officer on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.

 

Just today, she was promoted to the rank of Captain, here at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. That has been her (our, including myself and our 11 year old son) journey in a nutshell. 

How do you guys like Germany? We had a couple where I work transfer over to Germany as GS civilians. I actually am processing to go to Bahrain with the family so I still trying to decide if I want to go there. What age did your wife decide to join the AF? My wife is trying to figure out what to do next year now that our youngest will be going to school. She has a idea but isn't really sure about it right now and luckily I work full time with the help of the VA she can ultimately decide what she wants to do to make her happy

[JoBri 545]

5 hours ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

How do you guys like Germany? We had a couple where I work transfer over to Germany as GS civilians. I actually am processing to go to Bahrain with the family so I still trying to decide if I want to go there. What age did your wife decide to join the AF? My wife is trying to figure out what to do next year now that our youngest will be going to school. She has a idea but isn't really sure about it right now and luckily I work full time with the help of the VA she can ultimately decide what she wants to do to make her happy

We like it here in Germany. I lived here 5 years when I was in the Army, and now 4 more years with my wife in the Air Force. I am pretty used to life here I guess. We take trips when we can. I really enjoyed going to the landing beaches of Normandy last summer, and to stand in shallow foxholes in Belgium where the Battle of the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) took place. We are going to the German Alps in January. 

 

My wife wanted to go into the Tennessee Air National Guard 3 years after coming to the USA. She was 39 then. She was getting her nursing degree, and when her time in the guard was coming to an end she tried to get her commission and stay in the Guard as a nurse. But they had no openings near us for a nurse. So, she decided to try to get on active duty full time as a nurse. She was 42 at that time. The Air Force had a higher cutoff for nurses. You had to be no older than 47. She was 45 when she got accepted, and 46 when she went to Commissioned Officer Training in Montgomery, Alabama. And they wanted to send her to Germany right away for her first assignment. Next we would like to go to Hawaii or Guam, or California where she has family. Because of civilian nursing experience, she was able to get promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant in only 6 months. Now 2 years later she made Captain. I hope she can make Lt Col before she is supposed to get out, in 2035. It might be close. 

 

I've been to Bahrain! When I was in the Gulf War, waiting to return to the USA, my unit spent a day there on a beach on the Persian Gulf for R&R

Edited December 9, 2021 by JoBri