Twenty-three years ago on September 7th, 1989, I entered Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Base, San Antonio TX. I've been thinking about those days this past week.
It all began at the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) in Milwaukee WI the day before. We had all gone through the MEPS routine some weeks or months before that - being tested psychologically, academically and medically. This final go through at the MEPS included a final medical check, lots and lots of paperwork and the "Oath of Enlistment." I remember there were about 7 of us going into the Air Force together; all from Wisconsin except one guy from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - a large, quiet, Scandanavian-looking fellow by the name of Larsen. He'd eventually get the nickname "lumberjack."
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Airman Peaslee (left) getting his head shaved
Air Force basic training in those days was only 6 weeks, compared to 8 weeks for both the Army and Navy and an unbelievable 12 weeks for the Marines. But let me tell you, those 6 weeks felt like 6 months!
The "fun" started after a long nighttime bus ride from the San Antonio airport to Lackland, followed by a late evening meal in a mess hall. I think all of us were too nervous to eat. But so far, so good - all was relatively quiet. Then it was back on the bus to be taken to our barracks. And that's when all bedlam broke loose. Some TI (training instructor) boarded the bus and shouted at us to get off the bus. After we were all off the bus and formed up into lines, suddenly other TI's appeared out of the shadows shouting their heads off. They would single out individuals among us for an up close, face-to-face bawling out. We were ordered to pick up our suitcases. And then set them down. And then pick them up. And then set them down again. We were meant to follow these orders all together as a group.
Then we were rushed into the barracks and up the stairs to our dormatory. What I remember most from that first night was when all of us were sitting on the floor of our "day room," a common meeting room separate from the sleeping area, and were each given our dog tags and chain. After sliding our dog tags onto the chain we were supposed to clasp the chain together. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely manage to put the ends of my chain together. I was terrified that I would be the last one to finish and so would be singled out for some extra screaming. I quickly glanced around and noticed nearly everybody around me was having the same problem trying to connect their chains with uncontrollably shaking hands!
Once we were in our beds and the lights put out, we thought we were going to get some peace. But no. After a couple of minutes, the lights went up and the TI came storming up and down the aisles between our beds, shouting for us to get up. We all stood at attention next to our beds, some of us getting another dose of up and personal shouting. At some point we did finally get to bed for good that night.
But dark and early the following morning - 4 a.m. to be exact - in barged the TI banging a trash can and shouting and bellowing at us to get up and get dressed. Our first full day of basic lay before us.
That first week of basic was the most difficult. In basic they have you on the go for practically your entire waking day. We barely had a chance to catch our breath. We had to undergo more sight and hearing tests that first week and I seriously thought about faking poor eye-sight just in order to be released and sent home. In the end I decided not to do that and try to stick it out. I'm very glad I did.
There were sort of 3 phases to Air Force basic. The first was the brief "rainbow" phase. The new arrivals to basic who hadn't yet been issued their military uniforms were still marching around in their multi-colored civilian clothing. Hence, they were called "rainbows." Then, up until our 5th week, we were only allowed to wear our brownish-green camouflage uniforms. Then finally, during our final two weeks, we wore our "blues," our blue uniforms. Everyone who hadn't yet attained 4 weeks would look with envy on those "flights" (each group of trainees is called a flight) marching by in their smart looking blue uniforms. I remember how full of ourselves we felt when we were finally able to don our blues!
My funniest memory: being on the constant go it seemed we never had enough time for keeping all of our clothes ironed and boots polished. The TI's never let up criticizing us on our wardrobe. So, one day all of us in my flight decided that after lights out, we'd wait a certain length of time and then get up quietly and catch up on our ironing and polishing. Each of us had to take a 2-hour turn according to some rota schedule acting as door guard for our dormatory during the night. Whoever was on door guard duty had to watch out in case one of TIs decided to make a surprise nighttime visit.
There we all were, in our t-shirts and underwear, ironing or polishing away. Some of us had set up shop in the restroom. Suddenly there was a noise at the door and somebody went rushing around the dormatory, whispering fiercely that a TI was coming. Those in the sleeping area went scurrying into or even UNDER beds. Some of us in the restroom slipped into toilet stalls and sat there with our boots and polish on our laps. The TI went roaring up and down the dormitory threatening all kinds of punishment. Yet he didn't stay long. I imagine he had to quickly get away from us so he could bust out laughing somewhere. We must have been a pretty ridiculous sight!
Air Force basic has since been increased to 8 weeks, but those 6 weeks were the most intense period of my life. We lost and gained a few members along the way, but there were roughly 50 of us in the flight. We came from all over America. There were a couple of New Yorkers, an Iowan farmer and a Californian surfer. We had surnames like Alvarez, Beebe, Casterline, Gargano, Goldsmith, Hisashima, Klein, MacDonald, Petrovich, Turner and Walters. And I can tell you, by the end of basic our flight of individual characters could march and drill as a unit with the best of them. We were sharp and we felt real pride in our blue uniforms.
And then it was all over. Most of those 6 weeks in San Antonio during September and October were scorching hot, but I remember the cool dark morning we all got up to prepare to leave Lackland. We were splitting up to go to our various technical training school assignments. I distinctly remember that the TI's never shouted at us that final morning but actually spoke to us as normal humans. That was a new feeling! We had been waiting for this day for over 6 long weeks. We felt excited, relieved and even a little sad. Our flight had formed an intense comaraderie and most of us would never see one another again.
A handful of us flew to the New Orleans airport and then took the long bus ride to Keesler Air Base in Biloxi, Mississippi for our technical training and a new phase in our Air Force lives began.
Airman Peaslee
September 11th
When I graduated from technical training school at Keesler the week before Christmas 1989, the world was at a turning point. That was the year communisim collapsed in eastern Europe. As I was preparing to leave Keesler and spend some leave time in Wisconsin, the Romanian army mutineed and eventually executed the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. During this same time the United States invaded Panama, which had nothing to do with communism but brought home to me what it meant to be in the military. As the communist threat was fading from the world, other enemies were out there waiting.
Like everyone I clearly remember where I was when I heard about the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I was living in Katowice Poland. I had finished teaching summer school and had a few free weeks before the regular school year started. It was afternoon in Poland when the attacks in New York took place. I had been asleep on the sofa when Renata called from her job at the British Council Library. "Turn on the TV! A plane has crashed into a building in New York!" Her voice sounded agitated.
I turned on CNN International. My first thoughts were that it was an accident. However I quickly realized that two buildings had been hit by separate planes. I can't recall in what order I learned what had happened, but I don't think it was long before I learned of the two planes hitting the World Trade Center as well as the plane that hit the Pentagon and the one that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. I was physically shaking most of that day. Like most Americans, my emotions ranged from shock to appalling fear to rage. Even writing this now brings a lump into my throat.
One other major thing I remember from the days following the attack was how Americans in great numbers donated blood. People feared more attacks and wanted to make sure the blood banks were well supplied. I heard stories of people standing in line for hours without complaint to give blood. That's America!
For 11 years now we've avoided another major terrorist attack on our country. Getting back to the title of this post, one of the basic functions of the national government is to provide for the national defense and secure our borders. Our federal government, under Presidents Bush and Obama, has been successful in this. Now, if the government would just stick to its basic purposes!
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