Should I stay or should I go?

  • Published
  • By Col. Bradley D. Spacy
  • 88th Air Base Wing commander
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  Should I stay in the Air Force or should I go to the civilian world?

That's the question so many of our young Airmen are asking themselves every day, and a question I have asked myself many times.

I asked myself that question once early in my career after I returned from Operation Desert Storm and my 3-year-old daughter didn't know who I was. I asked it again when I returned from another year in the desert during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I've asked it many times in between after missing two Christmases, six Easters, nine Thanksgivings, and 12 birthdays. I asked it once as I sat in the 120-degree Saudi heat trying in vain to get the sand out of my lukewarm chicken a la king. I asked it in Iraq after a friend got killed by a mortar.

Each time I asked myself that question I've come up with the right answer for me and my family, but I don't know what is right for anyone else. All I can tell Airmen is that I have been around the world, seen some amazing things. This is what the Air Force is to me.

The Air Force is a super-demanding profession with standards so high that they will push you to your physical, mental, and spiritual limits. The Air Force is a family made up of outstanding military and civilian Airmen who have dedicated their lives to defending America and Americans. The Air Force is a place where integrity, service, and excellence are not goals, but the accepted minimums.

The Air Force is where you can follow, learn and lead. It is where hard work is rewarded with a promotion, more responsibility, and even harder work. It's a place where the days are often long, the nights short, and time away from loved ones is guaranteed. The Air Force is an exciting place where you will see and do things most people can't even dream of doing.

I tell Airmen that every day in the Air Force holds a sense of higher calling, of purpose, and achievement. I tell them the Air Force is for the bold, the brave, and the determined. I tell them the Air force is challenging, fulfilling and wonderful! I tell Airmen the Air Force is where heroes are made. I tell them we are a nation at war and I tell them their Air Force and their country needs them now more than ever!

However, I cannot tell anyone what is right for them. But every time I ask myself if I should stay or if I should go, I realize that the Air Force is truly a great way of life. I'll be here, I hope you will too! 

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