Hi everyone! I’m Victoria and I’m here to tell you about one of the Air Force’s best kept secret…the Air National Guard. My husband has been a member of the Kansas Air National Guard at Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas for 9 years now, and it’s been a wild ride.
He joined his unit when he was 17 years old; we were both seniors in high school, and to be honest, I was super hesitant to start dating him because I wasn’t sure that I was cut out for this Air Force life. However, I’ve realized over the past 9 years that being in the Air National Guard provides the opportunity for your spouse to serve their country, but in a way that doesn’t require as many sacrifices for you!
WHAT IS THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD?
The purpose of the Air National Guard is to be a support to the state in a part-time role, and can be called upon during a time of war. ANG members will enlist and serve at the base of their choosing (most likely closest to their home), which means no PCSing! ANG members are required to work one weekend a month (drill weekend), as well as two weeks of annual training. The part time nature of the ANG means that your service member will also be able to have a civilian job during the week, or have the option to work full time at the guard unit.
WHAT IS A CREW CHIEF?
My husband’s specific role in the ANG is a Crew Chief. A Crew Chief is a maintenance personnel who is in charge of the overall maintenance of an aircraft. Crew Chiefs perform simple maintenance tasks on aircrafts, as well as coordinate with specialists when larger maintenance issues occur.
Upon completion of basic training, Crew Chiefs go to Tech School at Sheppard Air Force Base for approximately three months. For Air National Guard members, they will return to their home base once tech school is over.
DRILL WEEKEND
Since we live an hour away from base, drill weekend is a little more of a commitment for him. He is usually out the door no later than 5:45 am to make it to base on time. At work he will perform maintenance on air crafts to include launching, recovering, supporting missions, and doing inspections/preventative maintenance on the KC-135. Because we live so far away, he does have the option to stay at a hotel in Topeka (paid for by the Guard). If we have nothing going on that weekend he’ll opt for the hotel so he won’t have to wake up as early Sunday morning. I can expect him at home around 6:00-7:00 Sunday night. Once drill weekend is over, he’ll have to work a full 5 day week at his civilian job before he gets a weekend.
WILL MY SPOUSE BE GONE OFTEN?
I’m happy to announce that in my opinion, NO, your spouse won’t be gone too much! On top of drill weekend there will be the occasional weekend exercise and TDYs that do pop up, but they typically don’t extend past 90 days. In the 9 years that my husband has been in the guard, his longest deployment was one, 75 day deployment in Qatar. Depending on the tempo of your base, those longer deployments may only happen once every 2-3 years. While every situation is a little different, you can rest assured that your spouse will be home much more often than they’ll be away.
WHAT WILL YOUR LIFE BE LIKE?
My favorite thing about the Air National Guard is that I am able to live my life with only the occasional interruption. I graduated college in 2015 with my degree in Secondary English Education and ever since then I’ve worked my dream job as a sophomore English teacher. I’m also the dance team coach, another one of my passions, which keeps me extremely busy on weekends. I love that the ANG has allowed me to establish myself in a career that I love!
This past April, my husband began Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base. It has definitely been an adjustment for him since he is technically Active Duty now. Since we have a home together, I have my dream job, and we know he’ll be returning back to Kansas, we made the decision that I would not move with him. We are both so eager for him to return home next year, but I am also so proud to see him live out his dream!
MEET VICTORIA
