Living My Storytelling Dream

While looking at the clouds through the window on my flight from San Antonio, my thoughts weren't where they normally are on the way to an assignment. I usually spend this time preparing for interviews or mulling over research.

This flight was different because this assignment was special. This was the first assignment for my dream job. I was reflecting on my first flight to San Antonio almost two decades ago for basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. I've always enjoyed a good story. I've also love to tell stories, whether they are to readers of a daily newspaper in Alabama or to the first grade children I taught in Florida. That first flight was 20 years ago. Then, I traveled with a copy of Airman magazine in my hands, as my dream was to become a storyteller for Airman.

My dream didn't come true during my first active-duty enlistment, or during a I second that sent me from Alabama to the frigid climate of Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. However, when I left the 319th Air Refueling Wing, everyone knew my dream and I was given a mock cover of Airman with a photo of a prairie dog. It has a prominent spot on my desk to this day.

After several other public affairs jobs, in and out of uniform, I was finally given my chance in September. Two weeks after joining the Airman staff, I was on my way to my first assignments--Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. and Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

Of course, I had to get there first. The trip northeast with veteran photojournalist Lance Cheung and broadcaster Tech. Sgt. Steve German began in a stormy fashion--literally. A severe thunderstorm knocked out electricity in my neighborhood, so my trust,/alarm clock, which I counted on to awaken me in time for the 7:30 a.m. flight, let me down. Instead, I awoke at 6 a.m. I panicked because the drive to the airport takes 45 minutes in good weather. As it turns out, the same storm knocked out electricity at the airport, delaying our flight for more than two hours.

Fortunately, the stories we found at Arnold and Robins made the adventurous trip worth it. At the Arnold Engineering Development Center, located in a remote area in the middle of southern Tennessee, we got an extensive tour of the largest aerospace ground test facility in the nation.

As a shameless history buff, I enjoyed hearing the stories behind the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Facility and the yon Karman Gas Dynamics Facility, not to mention the Mark 1 Test Facility. This 82-foot, state-of-the-art space environment simulation test chamber was originally built for the Air Force space program, but its purpose changed with the creation of NASA in 1958.

The chamber is now used for full-scale space systems testing.

I was especially interested in the building of the von Karman facility, which was named after Dr. Theodore yon Karman, a leading aeronautical scientist who father of supersonic flight. Von Karman's findings led to the building of the facilities in 1957, and it was renamed for him two years later.

After the wind tunnels, it was off to Robins for a visit with the people at the maintenance depot. Our hosts at the 402nd Maintenance Wing introduced us to some pretty amazing technology such as the Aerial Multi-Axis Platform, commonly called an AMP.

However, what are most interesting at both installations are the perspectives of the people there. I enjoyed hearing how they view their work and its impact on the mission. These are the people who, in some cases, work 10 hours a day, six days a week, to make sure our warfighters are getting safe aircraft as soon as possible. Of course, there are many people just like them all over the Air Force and we need to hear their stories.

On the way back to San Antonio, my mind was back on the things it normally is after a story assignment. I was reflecting on how to best tell the stories of the people I met. I hope my effort will do them justice because all the people I interviewed had wonderful stories to tell. I am very happy to be the outlet that allows them to tell them to you.