Technical Training

Alrighty, Meg has been doing more than a good job of keeping people posted here. I guess it is time for me to pick it up.

I have been at Keesler AFB for almost a week now and I guess I should let you know what it is like here. People told me it would be hotter and more wet but it is actually really nice right now. There is much more green and everything looks well kept. I live on a part of the base known as the Triangle. There are 8 or 9, three story dormitories surrounding a courtyard. Each Dormitory floor is divided into bays and there are about 20 rooms in a bay with 2 students to a room. So we are looking at about 2880 to 3240 students year round. That doesn't include Prior Service members (members of the Air force who are being retrained) who are housed off base.

This last week we spent most of our time in briefings and settling in to our rooms. My roommate's name is Simmons, is 21 and is in phase 3 (I will explain phases in a minute). When I first got to the dorm I opened the door and there were 2 Airmen, one was my roommate, wrestling on the floor in civilian clothes. They stopped briefly to introduce themselves and then continued. Later we shared a little about ourselves and I let him know that I was Mormon (no one in the south knows us by LDS or The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints). On his own he is a really cool guy. He disappeared this weekend going to parties and getting wasted like many others but he tries to understand me and respects my space so I am not complaining.

Phases! There are three of them here. Each phase is 2 weeks long and grants us increased liberties. The program is designed to help us transition from BMT living to life in the operational Air Force.

Phase 1 restricts students to base freedoms and they must wear their uniforms on and off duty. The curfew is 10 pm and no electronic devices can be outside of the dormitory. That said, uniforms and electronics can be used inside the dorm. I put my civilian pants on for the first time in 9 weeks and they just about fell off... sweet.

Phase 2 allows students to go off base but they must be in their Blues uniform. Civilian clothes can also be worn outside the dormitory but are restricted to the base. In this phase electronics can be worn while not in uniform and the curfew changes to 12 am

Phase 3 allows students to go off base in civilian clothes and there is no curfew.

The goal is for each member to maintain their military Bearing and customs and courtesies as they interact with all types of people on and off base. Once an Airman, always an Airman, in all places and at all times. So it may seem like 2 weeks is a short period of time but at anytime an MTL (Military Training Leader) can take those liberties away and more. There are many Airmen who have been reduced to phase one or have even been put through RMT (Remedial Military Training). It would seem that many students have lost their earned liberties but I am confident that it isn't hard for a student with a mature attitude and a little common sense to get through without worry.

The Wing Commander and Command Chief came and talked to us this past week and gave us a few facts on Keesler and insights on the Air force in general:

1. The 81st Training Wing, at Keesler, is the largest training wing in the Air force.
2. "Only 1% of all Americans become Airmen in the United States Air Force... Those are the United States citizens who enlist, complete basic military training and successfully graduate from tech school... You are truly second to none."
3. "The Army is our mother service and for that we are grateful. They cover the ground. The navy, marines & coast guard cover the sea. That is about 70% water. Last time I checked the world was surrounded by what? ...Air! So I guess we have it all covered. And again, not to be rude but we are capable of and can win a war faster than any other service... What is our mission? ...to blow crap up!"
4. If you plan on being in the service for 20 years then there is no reason that you shouldn't earn a Master's Degree. On average the Air Force enlisted member has more education than an officer.
5. With the new "Post 9-11 GI Bill" members receive up to 100% tuition and fee coverage,
   up to $1000 a year for books and Supplies, a one time relocation allowance, and the option to transfer benefits to Family Members.
   

That last one is really cool. That means Megan and I can both go to school with very little out of pocket expenses. Of course there are eligibility requirements for 100% coverage but anything is better than nothing.

Lastly I'll just summarize what will happen in this week to come. I will be starting my classes, start attending church activities, start a fitness program, and start my application and probation in the White Rope program (I will explain this next week).

Have a good week and I will talk to you soon!!!

Amn Christopher Wade Clark

United States Air Force

Keesler AFB, MS

GRADUATION!!!

I have just returned from the journey to San Antonio which I am grateful because I spent two hours driving around San Antonio trying to drop off my rental car.... so stressful. I was crying because I was sure I was going to miss my flight, but all's well that ends well and I am home and it ended well. I actually had a cool experience coming home which made the day more rewarding than driving around San Antonio for hours and still not knowing where anything was. I was sitting at the gate and this guy sits next to me and is all social... so I talk to him about San Antonio and my trip and he told me that he was here playing music and we talked about all the places he has traveled and how he is on his way to San Diego and I told him I loved it there... so we just chit chatted until we boarded.

So I sit down in my seat and wait for us to take off and this really tall big guy sits next to me and offers me a piece of gum and starts reading his book. I was enjoying the sensation of flight and looking out the window at the world below. I had my Terry Brooks book on my lap and the guy asks me if I had been reading the Shannara series. I told him I had read them all except this latest book, which I was holding. This icebreaker opened up a very rewarding conversation. After discussing our favorite books and authors he asked me where I lived and where I was traveling to. I told him I was from Utah and I was going home from seeing my husband graduate from basic training. He told me he was in the army and we talked about that for awhile... then he said... so you are from Utah. Are you a Mormon, and then he corrected himself, or a Latter Day Saint? I told him yes and we began discussing religion. He was well versed in the bible and told me he had a Mormon friend and also that he had two missionaries knocking on his door this past week. He said he also lives by the San Antonio temple. So he started asking me about the temple. He asked what they looked like inside and I told him they are very beautiful and he wanted some more detail so I told him that we progress through a series of rooms in which we perform ordinances. He had never heard that word before and asked what an ordinance was and I told him it is a sacred religious ceremony like a baptism. I told him that in the temple we receive the exalting ordinances which allow us to return to God and live with him eternally. I told him that we believe every individual deserves the right to either accept or reject those ordinances so I told him we call temple work redeeming the dead. We research our ancestors and preform that work for them so they have the opportunity to return with God. I bore my testimony to him several times during our 3 hour conversation. He was knowledgeable and a funny thing was he asked me how "John" died.... I said do you mean Joseph Smith? He said yeah so I told him about the martyrdom and some basic church history and the pioneers. He just kept asking questions so I kept explaining and talking to this guy. I told him that we believe that God is the same yesterday today and forever and that he continues to give revelation to his children and I told him that in connection with the Bible we have The Book of Mormon. I also told him that we have continued scripture from the prophet and apostles who write books and address the church. He mentioned a passage in Isaiah about the two sons who return to Jerusalem to bring the gospel to that people and how the world will watch as those two men are killed and then Christ will raise them from the dead and return to the earth. He said that it has only been recently that that could ever happen. I told him that the revelation we have received about that scripture is that those two sons will be two of our apostles and that Christ will raise them from the dead and will start the second coming. We agreed that the only way the world could all watch was through television and the Internet... so this guy and I actually agreed on a lot of what we talked about. I like to think that it all made sense to him. So we discussed some other things from the scriptures and then started to talk about people who only practiced their religion on Sundays. He said well if I die on Sunday I am ok right? I said... deathbed repentance? We don't believe in that. I told him that repentance is a process in which we acknowledge our sins and are actually changed in our character to never do those things again and I told him that can't happen on your deathbed. We then proceeded to talk about people who said they have already been saved by accepting Jesus Christ but have never practiced their religion. We both agreed that that was not how it worked. He told me that one time some preacher came up to him and told him that it would only take 30 seconds and he could be saved. He walked away from the guy because he thought that was crazy. I laughed. I told him that I have had friends that have served their missions in the Bible Belt and that they had a hard time with success because everyone was already certain that they had been saved. I then told him my brother was serving a mission in the Philippines. We related missionary work to joining the military and I talked about my experience in going to church with Chris which I will relate later. We talked about our families and I told him that my dad converted to the church and none of his family are members but they are all really good people but I also told him about my mom's family and how they were all members but how most of them had fallen away. So we talked about how there are good people in the world even if they aren't Mormon. We then started talking about religious fanatics. I told him people can get pretty fanatical in Utah with their emergency preparedness and certain aspects of the church and I told him that I believed that I need to heed the words of the prophets and what they have counseled but not make my own analysis on revelation and try and convince everyone to join with my thinking. We talked about how life is all about balance and how people that are religiously fanatic are not very balanced therefore not very healthy. He told me that there are fanatics with every religion but he also believed that there needed to be a balance. I told him I am a very religious person and am striving for balance in my life. The conversation was just all natural and not forced and he was genuinely interested but in the end he said it is just easier for him to believe that we were created and then when we die it is the end. He said that is a pretty desolate view point and I talked to him about yes our bodies die but what about our spirits? I told him that spirits are eternal. He didn't really want to believe that and then we started talking about the creation and how this guy he worked with thought it was strictly 6 days. 24 hour periods. I told him that is not what we believe. I told him they are periods of time which God designates calling them by one day. We discussed how it is impossible for us to judge God's timeline and we can't compare it to what our time is set at. We then started talking about the details of the creation. He related this to me. There is a tree. You cut down the tree, shave the tree, cut the tree and then shape the tree into the chair but there has always been a tree. The whole time he is talking about this I just kept thinking about the temple and the part we learned about the creation. I wish I would have told him more about how we organized matter to create these things but what I ended up talking about what how God creates everything spiritually before they were ever created physically and he agreed with that. So this guy was kind of contradicting himself saying that he didn't believe in a before or after life. So I am hoping I planted some good seeds with this guy. We talked until the plane landed and he got up and told me it was a pleasure talking to me. So I felt pretty good. I smiled the whole way walking through the airport. It feels good to have missionary experiences and I am grateful to have those experiences that make me realize more how much I know and believe and am grateful for the gospel. He was a nice guy and I hope one day he realizes it is worth it to think and ponder and come to know God and your divine nature instead of taking the easy way out and just not believing it. So I am grateful for Terry Brooks and that conversation that his book created for me on my flight today.

On to the trip!

I flew in on Wednesday and spent the evening trying to aquaint myself with the base... I had a map but was completely lost... I ended finding the commissary and base exchange and bought some food and shampoo because mine exploded during travel... it has happened to me before... I should have learned my lesson... but alas, I made the same mistake. So after exploring I went back to the hotel to sleep. I set the alarm on the clock in my room and on my phone and planned to go to the 7:3o orinentaion the next morning. I went to sleep and the next thing I woke up... I thought it strange that I would wake up before my alarm so I rolled over to look at the clock. It was 10:26!! I cussed and then started to cry because I missed orientation and the airman run. I didn't know when the coin ceremony started so I threw on some clothes and went out the door... I made it to the best part of the coin ceremony and found Chris and amazingly with a packed crowd there was a seat on the bleachers right by him. So I sat down and ended up crying because the ceremony was so cool. Afterwards I approached Chris from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. I told him about my morning and we went exploring the base together. We went to some stores and justy spent time together and we were waiting for his parents to get there. We went out to eat in the BX and ate some pizza. We then decided to go to a movie because we were bored and didn't want to sit around waiting for his parents. We went to Transformers 2 which was a huge waste of time. After half an hour I was ready to leave. It was funny though because after the previews there was no sound and two more times the movie was interrupted and Chris told me it was probably some TI enjoying messing up the movie... we ended up leaving early because we didn't want Chris to be late and lose privileges the next few days. We found his parents at the theater and brought him back to his dorm. I was tired and went to bed while his parents explored. They met me again after they were done and we set a time for us to meet the next morning for Graduation. I thought it wasn't as cool as the coin ceremony but here are s0me pictures of the parade.

After the parade we got to see his dorm. Marie was so worried about 60 guys sharing the dorm so I took these pictures just for her... it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was very clean and well taken care of.

Afterwards we had the chance to see a WNBA game... it was awesome. The San Antonio Stars and the LA Sparks. I have gotten bored with the NBA and these women were so exciting. They were so fast and making all these swirly plays. I loved the picks and rolls that those women did. The game ended up going into over-time and was very exciting. The only obnoxious thing was the announcer really had us do DEFENSE every time the opposing team had the ball... he was so obnoxious the way he said it and Chris and I made fun of it the whole game.

Saturday we had the whole day to be with Chris. I had a rough morning and Chris and his parents went to the River Walk and the Alamo. Then Chris came and spent the rest of the day with me. We watched Napoleon Dynamite because it is kind of a tradition with us... kinda weird, I know. Then Chris parents left and Chris and I watched his BMT video and looked at the pictures that were taken. He said the movie was so toned down and softened compared to the real thing. It was very interesting. I went to take him closed and my usual gate was closed so we were driving around and worried we would be late, but he made it.

Sunday was awesome. We ran some errands and then went to church. The spirit was so strong. Everyone wanted and needed to be there. At home people are just there by obligation or that is what there family and friends were doing. It was hilarious though because on of the counselors came up to Chris and said, "Since you are such a starwalt member will you say the invocation?" So Chris said yes and then right before the meeting started another counselor approached Chris and asked him if he had seen a certain trainee. Chris didn't even know who he was talking about and ended up pinch hitting in his place. He spoke on reverence and respect. He related it to his mission and then to basic training and then bore a powerful testimony. We didn't get to stay for any other meetings because of Chris' curfew so I took him back and we said our goodbyes. I thought it would be harder then the original goodbye but I was renewed and strengthened by his presence. I then came home the next day. It was very rewarding and I wished I had an experience where I could have so much growth and accomplishment. I was jealous. Hopefully one day I will feel that way about myself. I am so grateful for the sacrifices Chris made and continues to make in behalf of our family. I am truly blessed to have him as my husband.

I'm leaving on a jet plane... I don't know when I'll come home again... well actually next monday

Hello!
The time has come.... less that 24 hours I will be on a plane for San Antonio. I spoke with Chris last night. Here are his final stats.

PT
1.5 mile run: 10:45
Push ups in 1 minute: 48
Sit ups in 1 minute: 50

So his rank is liberator.

He has lost 22 lbs. He now weights 175 lbs

He scored 93% on his academic test. So keep your fingers crossed that he gets honor grad.

Graduation countdown: 15 days! And a letter to boot!

7/22/09

These letters are so rare :( Let me get some important stuff out of the way. Next week like the 31st or somewhere around there, you will get a phone call from me that will be rushed and super short. Basically we will be going to the BEAST, but we will be telling you that we are deploying. We will be out in "the field" for a whole week. No mail, no contact. It's all good though. More to read when I get back :)

Today was the obstacle course. We marched an hour to the course and an hour back :( The course was 1.5 miles long and very exhausting. Crawling, climbing, swinging on ropes, climbing, crawling on a rope over water, swinging over water, lots of running and all in our uniform. By the time I was done I weighed about 20 lbs more due to water weight (sweat) and sand, and I lost a little skin on my finger, but it's all good.

7/24/09

I have less than ten minutes so I will try to get as much info as possible in here. Today was CBRNE training and the gas chamber. They drove us out where we are going to camp on week six and taught us a lot about being prepared for attacks and improvised explosive devices. So we all have gas masks issued to us. I think they are cool. We went into the gas chamber 20 at a time and did 10 jumping jacks before taking off our masks. It burns your skin... before you can leave the room they make you take two deep breaths and give a reporting statement. Not fun. It chokes you and you can't see and your nose runs....

7/25/09

So, ok... Where did I leave off? I told you about the obstacle course, I talked to you on the phone about 2 hours ago. What happened today? We worked in our wall lockers ( we got our "blues" uniforms this week) all morning. We wont even get to wear them until week seven... more stuff to inspect. :(

Have I ever told you that laundry crew sucks? Most of us are wearing dirty clothes today. We'll catch up tomorrow. Sunday is the only day we can expect to get laundry done.

7/28/09

We did our MIGA2 training yesterday... It sucked. Well it was fun, but I didn't get marksman. :( we had to shoot with gas mask inserts, the gas mask and a big huge hearing protection.. I had a hard time maintaining my stockweld while targeting.. Oh well I passed. I can still look forward to honor grad. That's a lot of hard work. I've got to keep pushing.

Today we took pictures in our Blues "big pimpin" uniform and we took the flight photo. I look pretty good in blues :) We do a lot of marching....

Let me tell you what we eat and how we eat. We get three meals a day and are required to eat. So the instructors can't punish us by not letting us eat, but they can restrict how much time we have to eat. So breakfast is about 5 minutes to eat, 7 for lunch and 10 for dinner. So it is your standard lunch line. Servers on one side and trainees on the other.We stand tray to tray and order our food with, :"please sir/mam" and a "thank you sir/mam." I usually have sausage, eggs, ham, french toast, yogurt, banana, a glass of water and a glass of gatorade. ( more than I used to eat at home) Sometimes it is hard to keep it down after PT.... for lunch we usually have roast beef or chicken with whatever they decide to put out. Green beans, carrots, broccoli, rice... sometimes they have ravilolies or spinach and cheese, rolls, bread.... fruit...left overs. Same with dinner. I think there is a quantity over quality rule the chef lives by, but the food isn't bad. We have had MREs twice so far. They are a lot better than the old ones my dad used to have. We will be eating those all week next week.

I got a letter from Marie and Ty today. It was pretty cool. I should write them if I get the time. I also got your letters from the 24th of July and that card from your grandparents.

Keep on keeping on. I do think about you a lot. I've only had two or three dreams wand you were in one. The other ones were BMT dreams :(

Well I have a lot to do before bed and need to be up at 0230. It's a detail day again... sigh. Put your shoulder to the wheel!!!!

Who'da thunk?

I got two phone calls yesterday!! One for half and hour and then another one for 15 minutes. We discussed all of our travel plans and I asked him a lot of questions that I had. He also had 30 minutes of time to spend on the Internet.

His flight earned base liberty because they were given the assignment to put up a tent. His flight had the tent up and taken down and accomplished all their tasks before their brother flight even got the tent up. So they helped them put up the tent and take it down. He said they had been doing CPR this week as well. He said that you usually get Base Liberty the week before the BEAST. So that is this week so I will get a letter he sent out last week but after that probably two weeks of no communication. Pooh. But I get to see him in 18 days. I actually had a weird dream about it last night... it was like Christmas time and Bob and Barb we at Granny's and all my friends from work were there and we went to see the Airman's run and we saw Chris and then he snuck away to come see us and I was worried he would get in trouble so I sent him back. I always have weird dreams. Especially recently.

I asked him what his stats were for PT. He said he can run the mile and a half in 11:00. He can do 39 push ups and 38 sit ups. I think when he left he could do 32 on both of them. So he has improved but he is not good enough for honor grad with the physical test, so he is studying extra hard so he can get honor grad in the academic portion. He has to get 90% or higher to qualify. I have every faith that he can do it. So does his mom. That's why I have been getting so few letters lately. He is studying hard. I've been a little sad but it would be cool to go to the Honor Graduate Ceremony. So I am glad he is working hard.

So that's about all. He has 15 days of leave when he gets home to spend with family.... I wish I had 15 days of leave so we could be together the whole time, but, alas, I must work. As well as everyone else.