So, I am talking with another First Sergeant yesterday, when we get into talking about time in service somehow, on some subject...and it dawns on me. I hit 19 years on active duty yesterday. I know the only reason I made it this far is because I am surrounded by AWESOME people. I have had great people work with and around me (Barry Robinson, Jun S Kang, Paul Stansbury, Fernando Santos, Jeremy Huggins, Paul Woolard, Tony Braddock, Dustin Kingsland, Michael Latimer Jr., Bridget Vanetti, Tiffany Bettisworth, TJ Duplantis, Amber Royster Mitchell). I have had some of the finest mentors in supervisors (Michael Lim, Kevin Chivington), Chiefs (Jim Downey, Don Gurganus, Jason France, Anthony Smith, Geoff Weimer, Brad Behling, Craig Adams, Chuck Eldridge, Edward Story, Kenneth Lindsey), First Sergeants (Aaron Scofield, Charles R. Doan, Keith Custer, Larry Kirkley, Joel Buys, Jennifer Emerson Buys, Zack Stys, Joe Valois, Joseph Wheeler, George Freeman, Raymond Bradley, David Delgado, Zamanta Triche (How did we ever make it to the Diamond, Z?), Terrance Donson, Dan JustcallmeWayne Young, Jamie Jordan, Dathan T. Hayes, Antonio Goldstrom, Jerry Synnon Glover), and Commanders (Dave Seitz, Joel Gartner, and Jerry Franklin). I have made great and life long friends (Jeremy Milton Rmc, David Baker) along the way. In this 19 years, I have found my rock, the person I can count on more than myself in Patricia Hart, and who has given me 3...count them...3 AMAZING children, and who is a superstar in her own right. I have a mother in law (Kathy Bridges) who dropped everything in her life and came to the aid of a man (me) who needed help when things were tough for this family and who I will never be able to repay. I have some brothers (GooBs - Chris James, John Scott Jarvinen, James Jarvinen, and Aj Mills) who in each their own way have made me that much better of a husband, father, and brother. I have those couple friends Kristen Mezger Morgan, Mike Morgan, Rickelle Mathis, Anthony Mathis, Yvonne Schrecker, Randy P. Schrecker) that mesh as well as any military couple(s) can who take care of you and your family while you answer the call. I have those childhood friends (Louie Whitfield) who understand what it was like for a young man with no prospects to run off and join the military to make something of himself and yet still be able to pickup where they left off like family should. I have people like Steve Nichols who have managed to stay grounded in reality while their careers have taken them to heights we didnt think we would see as Airmen, and who keep you inspired to leave it better than you found it. Buddies like Ash Nemetz who have shown me that work isnt everything and at the end, your family are the ones keeping the light on for you when its all over. These people I would do anything for because they are all real. They embody everything I want to emulate in one way or another. These are the people I admire, that I want to be like, and that I want to like me. I hope the rest of my time goes as well as the first 19 years did. I know I missed some folks here, but it is late and I dont think Facebook can take much more of my diatribe.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:47:54 +0000
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