A Heart Full of Sorrow

I witnessed something both tragic and amazing this week. My neighbors on base went through the most heart-wrenching tragedy. I cannot imagine a pain more relentless than what they are facing now. While on one hand, my heart breaks for them, it also swells at the outpouring of support that instantaneously appeared from the base community.

Recently, I took on a couple of new roles on base. I have become an officer for the Student Spouse Group (a social group that empowers student spouses to come together) and, in turn, a “key spouse”. Key spouses are found on every base throughout the country and are representative of a particular population (I, with my two other comrades, represent the student spouses). Basically, we are the Yellow Pages for our community: We offer support for spouses and we can direct them to additional resources should the need arise.

Because of these new roles, when tragedy struck, I was fielding phone calls and e-mails from concerned families before the lights and sirens had left my street. People who have never met my neighbors were crying for them and offering selfless acts of kindness, from meal delivery to babysitting. People have stopped me at the commissary and the pet store asking, “What can I do?”

This community has shown its true colors this week. As someone who is still fairly new to military life, this was not what I expected, but I am so proud to be a part of it. Society at large has something to learn from this family we call the Air Force. 

Standing Still

C soloed to the area yesterday! He has only 4 flights left until his final Contact checkride.

That's it. Really. I have absolutely nothing else to report. The snow is moving in for the second week in a row and life as we know it has come to a standstill. Rumor has it the students will soon be flying weekends in order to make up for the lack of weekday flying.

Therefore, in lieu of anything exciting to share, I'd like to share this video that C says, "Is exactly what [he does] every day!" It makes me a little nauseous just watching it, which makes me all the more impressed with C's dedication and success.

It May Not Be 1999...

…But we definitely have cause to party like it is!

Winter in pilot training is an odd paradox of busy inactivity. By this I mean, when the weather is poor, the idleness is stifling. But when the sun makes its triumphant return, the rush to squeeze in as many flights as possible to get caught up and progress is enough to make your head spin. After C’s solo flight, he flew once in about 3 weeks. (This was not just due to weather, but also cancelations and various other schedule changes) Then, suddenly, he double-turned (meaning two flights or a sim and a flight, back to back) three days in one week and went up for his mid-phase check-ride during the same week. The check-ride itself was enough to get the blood pumping, with its notorious 60% failure rate.  C passed with flying colors (pun sort of intended) and this week (weather permitting) will progress to his area solo (flying by himself to the practice area to carry out aerobatic maneuvers).

Despite the insanity of the week, everyone – C and I included – had an event to look forward to on Friday night. The night of the celebratory “Solo Party” had finally arrived. The party, of course, is meant to commemorate the achievement of the students on accomplishing their initial solo, but also provides a much-needed opportunity for students and instructors to come together in an informal environment. The (root)beer flowed and jokes abounded in anticipation of the “tie-cutting” ceremony – an Air Force tradition wherein the instructor and student who soloed together have a chance to tell the story of the solo, often including funny anecdotes and frequent embellishments, followed by the instructor hacking away at the student’s tie based on his performance (the lower the cut, the better the flight). 

Just the tip - Way to go, C!

It was nice to see the tension eased with laughter over past mistakes and the amplified camaraderie that success seemed to harbor in the students. 

Bird on a Wire

Birds migrate. This is certainly no big secret. What I didn’t fully comprehend was that, in moving to the southern regions of the U.S., birds migrate HERE. They’re everywhere! From the power lines, to the plentiful harvested fields, and of course, in the air.  The presence of so many feathered creatures not only provides endless entertainment/angst for my dog,

but also causeed the Air Force to develop such terms as: Bird Severe. Naturally, birds and jet engines are not the best combination, but the migration effect is so out of control that the phenomenon has been titled as an actual flight condition (much like weather) that halts or redirects flights.

"Bird Severe"

So, during the winter months of pilot training, not only do students contend with snow, ice, and bone-freezing temperatures, they also are on constant alert for flocks so large they more resemble a black storm cloud. 

It Takes a Trio to Make a Solo

After 12 training flights (plus a post-Christmas “refresher” called an 86-ride) and approximately 5 sim sessions, my husband has finally climbed mountain #1 in UPT: the T-6 initial solo. It was an exciting day for all of us! H & I met our escort (C’s flightmate) in the flight room while C was briefing with his instructor.

C & his IP

After his briefing, he went to “step” for his flight – check in with the SUP, get a weather brief, airfield status, and any other pertinent information, then receive an aircraft assignment.  From there, we followed him over to Life Support, where he donned all of his gear (g-suit, helmet, etc.) to prepare for his flight.

Suiting up

For the first part of the flight, his instructor joined him for 3 normal landings, a go-around, and a break-out and reentry of the pattern, to ensure proficiency before he took off on his own. Upon landing, the instructor hopped out and C was ready to “fly solo”. (Pun completely intended)

Duel to Solo

Before heading out, the IPs have a fun tradition in which they switch name tags with the student to signify “handing over” their wings. This is followed by some sort of pep talk. (In this case, "Have fun. Don't kill yourself.")

Switching name tags

During the initial solo, the student stays in the pattern and practices as many landings as possible before returning, lasting about 30-45 minutes.

Signaling for engine start

After the flight, we had a chance for a few photo ops and congratulatory hugs, 

Our trio

but then C had to prepare to enter stealth mode. Per Air Force tradition, the student is subjected to being tossed in the “dunk tank” after their first solo. (Which, the day before, was covered in ice and has a perpetual layer of muck resting on the bottom)

The dunk tank

If the student is able to sneak past his classmates and make it to the flight room without being caught and dunked, each flight member owes him/her a case of their favorite beverage. C (and his instructor, who was eligible for dunking since it was his first solo as an IP) managed to make it back. So, while he will be enjoying a plethora of beverages, he got drenched anyway, just to honor tradition.

H and I were so proud, watching C take off in an Air Force jet all on his own! There may be more to come, but: Hurdle #1 complete.  

T-6 Initial Solo: Complete

“It’s pretty cool when you’re doing 230 knots at 500 feet, in a 60-degree bank, pulling 4 G’s.”  ~ C

Downward Dog and Other Perks

There are many things to get used to living on an Air Force base for the first time, but I’m beginning to learn that there are plenty of perks as well. I rarely drive, and when I do, a tank of gas can last for weeks. The commissary and Bx are across the street and are tax-free. (Also really cost-effective!) The library is also within walking distance and, though small, the librarians are friendly and even pull books aside for me when my favorites come in. The park is just a walking path away and a favorite of H’s. I love the proximity of friends and the built in support network of spouses.

We love the base park!

One of the services that I’ve come to value the most is the fee-free base gym. My friend, M, and I have made fitness one of our goals during pilot training and have been taking advantage of the facilities and classes available to us. We started in our comfort zone with cardio machines and weights, but this week we decided to give the Monday morning yoga class a shot. Despite now having muscles that feel like they’ve been pulled behind a truck, the class was fun, effective, and best of all – FREE! I may not have mastered downward dog yet, but I think I’ll be giving it another try soon.

Okay, so this isn't me (as if I would post myself doing this pose!), but it COULD be
Picture: alaskaartguild.com/Yoga

M and I have the good fortune to be going back to the same base together after pilot training, so I’m thrilled to have her as a constant, but I’m also nervous about the prospect of losing the camaraderie and convenience of base life. Where will I connect with other spouses? How will I afford groceries? How will I stay in shape? Yet as these questions haunt me, I also remember that we have nearly a year left to go, so these luxuries remain mine and my fears can linger for another day.

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Couch

Last night I went into forbidden territory, the restricted area, the inner sanctum: into the flight rooms (by invitation, of course). C’s squadron held an orientation for student spouses (all 5 of us) to give us a glimpse into what our loved ones face while they’re away from us. I had a chance to meet several instructors as well as the squadron and flight commanders and their wives. It was a good chance to put faces with names and actually meet the people responsible for my husband’s long absences. It was also nice to see the room where C spends so much time, complete with the couch on which students are not allowed to sit – a comfortable seat is a privilege to be earned – and the flight mascot: a python.

They put together a presentation – PowerPoint, I know, you’re shocked – detailing a “day in the life” of a JSUPT student. Here’s the gist: Upon a bright and early arrival, students are not allowed to enter their flight rooms until precisely the appointed time. Once admitted, they start the morning with a formal brief to discuss the weather, runways, and other pertinent information for the day. This transitions into “stand-up” - an oral emergency procedures quiz – and shotgun questions pertaining to any and all relevant aircraft information.  If scheduled for a morning flight or sim, they would then proceed to the preflight brief, flight, and debrief, taking about 3-4 hours for the whole process. They have academics or CAIs scheduled intermittently, various other duties, and infinite studying. These tasks can occur in any order and, while they currently can only be scheduled for one actual flight per day (that will change after solo), they could have both a flight and a sim on the same day. Each flight (or sim) is its own lesson, taking ample preparation. The last 10-15 minutes going over the highlights (and screw-ups) and learning moments of the day. Twelve hours after they began, they’re then formally released to go home and do it all again the next day.

It was actually pretty informative to hear C’s day summarized like that. I also learned that I, as a spouse, am allowed the occasional trespass to do nice things like bring C lunch, but it was also pretty clear that he may or may not have time to eat it.

Here at home, we’ve also fallen into a routine of sorts, albeit, not a very satisfying one. C gets home around 7:00, we eat dinner together (I’ve been doing a lot of crock pot meals since I’m never sure exactly when he’ll get home), he heads into “the cave” (his office) and I get H ready for bed.

This is how C spends his evenings

And this is how the dog spends her evenings

I’m usually asleep or reading by the time he joins me around 11:00 and he falls asleep almost instantly. C leaves in the morning before either of us is awake and we start the routine all over again. Friday nights and Saturdays are, by far, the best part of our week.