My life as a junior Airman

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ty-Rico Lea
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  When it comes to transitioning from one base to another, most people will say "I've always wanted to go there," or "I heard that base is terrible," only to realize that it's never what they expect.

I started my Air Force career, as all enlisted, reserve and guard Airmen do, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and continued onto Fort Meade, Md. for my technical training. But my career didn't officially start until I arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, where spending three consecutive years here certainly provided me with life lessons that I couldn't have otherwise learned in such a short time.

Some of the few life lessons I learned involved how to recover from a disciplinary action that almost cost me my career involving prank calls to my coworkers and the force restructuring that followed.

If it weren't for my resolve and the guidance from my leadership, I wouldn't be writing this heartfelt message encouraging fellow Airmen to always learn from your mistakes and make as few as possible.

I was given the decision to extend my stay there, but I ultimately decided that it'd be best to spread my wings and venture to new places. My choices for my next duty assignment were Tyndall and Peterson AFB, Col. I guess it's evident what I chose.

I made the decision to join Tyndall based off the rich history this base holds and mission statement its personnel follow: To train and project unrivaled combat air power.

I arrived at Tyndall on a July day and was greeted with open arms. Given the weather was pretty hot, it felt good to finally be back on the eastside where I'm originally from.

Even with the change of scenery, my mission did not change; I was still expected to convey the Air Force's mission with photography and journalism.

People have always told me that your first base is what you make of it while your second one is the easiest; I now realize this to be true ever since migrating from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Tyndall.

Meeting a team of Airmen that I can work with to accomplish a common goal here has been all the more fruitful, and I feel I've made the right decision.