Recruit sheds weight to join Air Force

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Melissa White
  • 437th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFPN) --  A Charleston-area resident weighing 253 pounds lost more than 80 pounds in eight months to meet weight requirements to join the Air Force in time to go to Basic Military Training July 1. 

"I wasn't surprised that I weighed too much (then), but I really didn't know the weight limit would be that low," said Matt Mobley, a 5-foot-7-inch 20-year-old recruit. 

"I knew that I wanted to become an Airman more than anything else, so I set a goal for myself,"  he said.

Tech. Sgt Christopher Conaway, a Charleston area recruiter, gave Mr. Mobley information about the Air Force in September 2007 and told the potential recruit that he was there for him if he wanted some motivation along his journey to lose weight.

"I thought that was the last I would see of Mr. Mobley, because I would say that about nine out of 10 people never come back," Sergeant Conaway said. "Much to my surprise, Matt came into my office in October and then again in November and December. This young man was losing weight. I found myself becoming a huge Matt Mobley fan."

When Mr. Mobley found out that he had to lose nearly 80 pounds to qualify for the Air Force, he started eating healthy and exercising several times a day.

"I was always a big kid," said Mr. Mobley, a native of Summerville, S.C. "So I started eating healthier and in moderation, along with running and biking all the time. When I started, I could bike about six miles in 45 minutes, but now I can do about eight miles in only 25 minutes and I can run two miles in less than 15 minutes."

As he continued to lose the weight, Mr. Mobley also regularly weighed himself at the gym and checked into Sergeant Conaway's office about once every two weeks to check his weight to help him stay motivated.

After eight months, Mr. Mobley weighed himself at the gym on a May morning to find that he was actually under his weight limit. He went in that same day to inform his recruiter. Mr. Mobley's new weight of 164 pounds was safely under the limit of 175 by more than 10 pounds.

"I could not help but cheer and clap my hands," Sergeant Conaway said. "We were both jumping up and down. Matt had done what he set out to do."

Mr. Mobley was scheduled to start Basic Military Training July 1 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Afterward he is set to attend technical school to become a tactical crew chief .

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