Recruit loses 120 pounds to join Air Force Published Feb. 21, 2008 By Staff Sgt. Chad T. Tanner 338th Recruiting Squadron COLUMBUS, Ohio (AFPN) -- Growing up in Columbus, a young man admired Airmen from nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and he thought joining the Air Force was a logical conclusion since his father and other family members served in the military. But the problem for Daniel Kuertz was that he weighed 320 pounds. The weight helped him play high school and college football, but the weight was keeping him from enlisting into the Air Force. He would have to lose 120 pounds to qualify to enter the service. Instead of giving up, he fought to lose the weight. He cut out sodas, limited his meal portions, switched to healthier foods and started an intense fitness regime in 2006. One year after changing to a healthier lifestyle, Mr. Kuertz stepped into an Air Force recruiting office in Columbus where he met Staff Sgt. Paul Lindsey. Mr. Kuertz still had a few more pounds to lose, so Sergeant Lindsey told him to come back in a few weeks when he had lost the additional weight. This is not an uncommon occurrence at a recruiting office, Sergeant Lindsey said. "Nine times out of 10, we never see them again," the recruiter said. But he did see Mr. Kuertz again -- minus the extra pounds. Today, not only has Mr. Kuertz lost 120 pounds, but he has qualified for training in one of the Air Force's most elite career fields -- combat control -- and will enter Basic Military Training in March at Lackland AFB, Texas. Combat controllers are combat forces assigned to special tactics squadrons within the Air Force Special Operations Command. Their mission is to deploy by the most feasible means available into combat and non-permissive environments. They are special forces who establish assault zones, while simultaneously providing air traffic control, fire support and command and control communications in the joint arena. Mr. Kuertz is scheduled to attend several training courses, including a two-week combat orientation course, a 15.5-week combat control operator course, a three-week airborne school, a three-week survival school course, and a 14-week special tactics air traffic controller course, which serves as the capstone to the entire training experience. "All the Airmen I've had a chance to meet have nothing but compliments about the Air Force and the benefits of making it a career are certainly enticing," Mr. Kuertz said. "It is hard to say now whether I will stay for a career, but it is definitely an option, which I cannot rule out." Susan Kuertz, his mother, said she and her husband are very proud of their son. "We've seen this determination throughout his life," she said. "Danny will be an asset wherever he goes." Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page