'Extended family' remains strong benefit

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Robby Kyrouac
  • 33rd Flying Training Squadron commander
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) --  Over the last few years, there has been a lot of talk of eroded benefits in the military and Congress scrambling to "catch us up" to the civilian sector.

There is one benefit, however, that has not been eroded, remains strong and is seldom mentioned. That benefit is the sense of family I have always felt was an integral part of my tenure in the Air Force.

When I was a first-assignment instructor pilot, or FAIP, as a young second lieutenant at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, I had the privilege of working for a flight commander who could only be described as "crusty."

This captain had started his career as an Army helicopter pilot and served in Vietnam during the late '60s. As luck would have it, he picked me to accompany him to Williams AFB, Ariz., for a safety staff assistance visit followed by a hop to Nellis AFB, Nev., where I had my first exposure to the Threat Museum.

During that cross-country trip, I was amazed at the number of people we ran into that the captain knew or knew mutual friends. I commented on this near the end of the trip, and he said, "Stay in long enough and you'll have friends scattered all over the place too."

I was on a cross-country with a young FAIP recently and ran into several friends. The FAIP commented on how many people I knew, and I found myself remembering my cross-country with that captain all those years ago.

Here it is 19 years later and he could not have been more correct. I have made countless friends and acquaintances, lost a few along the way and rekindled some at later times. I have run into old friends while on temporary duty, eating at an outdoor cafe in Vicenza, Italy, dining with my team in "K-town," Germany, doing laundry at billeting on Nellis and even when hustling across the base between meetings while deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

There are many more similar stories, but I think you get the point. During my assignment prior to Vance, I had the good fortune to serve on a joint team that deployed all over the European Command area of responsibility providing command and control warfare expertise during operations and exercises. My team was led by an Army lieutenant colonel and was composed of Marine, Navy and Air Force officers and enlisted members.

That opportunity taught me something very important: The sense of family I had experienced in the Air Force extended throughout the military to our sister services as well.

Our Air Force was a garrisoned force stationed throughout the world during the Cold War. Now we are heavily engaged in an expeditionary role that deploys us throughout the world. With the reduction in manning throughout the 1990s and the explosive increase in deployments, we find ourselves away from home now more than ever.

Somehow it makes the deployments, TDYs and family separations just a little easier knowing I have an extended family spanning this entire globe. I have always received help, support, mentoring and laughs too numerous to count wherever my travels have taken me.

The next time you find yourself considering our "eroded benefits" and how much we are asked to do, consider this: of all the friends and acquaintances I have had who get out of the military over the years, the single most common thing they miss is the sense of family and camaraderie. Whether that friend is an airline pilot or corporate executive, they have all missed it.

Remember also, what we do is a service to this awesome nation as part of the greatest military force this world has ever known. From the moment you were sworn in, you became part of that same expansive family that takes care of its own, no matter where your travels might take you. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)