Street Smart

I had the privilege last week to attend my granddaughter’s graduation from Air Force basic training. I have to say that watching the ceremony and meeting the young recruits gave me hope for our country’s future!

I want to start by saying that I believe the military is an outstanding option for any young adult just out of high school. Particularly a young person who isn’t quite sure what their next step should be. Military service offers a person discipline/structure, training and an income during a transitional period in their lives when they’re trying to decide what they want to do. I’m not sure if everyone is aware of all of the benefits of military service, so I’ll touch briefly on what made my granddaughter decide to serve.

First of all, she’s service oriented and a patriot. She comes from a service family. She’s been involved in sports all her life, so she understands the importance and value of discipline in a person’s life. Clearly the military is a disciplined service environment, but there is so much more. My granddaughter wants to advance her education, but doesn’t want the debt. The military will help her with that. The military offers her the opportunity and then helps her attend college while she serves. She intends to take advantage of that benefit. She wants to travel. The Air Force has hundreds of bases worldwide so the opportunity for travel is nearly endless. Someday she wants to buy a house. The GI Bill will help with that. Finally, the military experience and the skills/discipline they teach will set her up for a career on the outside if she decides to leave after her four-year commitment.

The graduation ceremony itself was an incredibly uplifting experience. It was actually a two-day event. The first day was the “Airman’s Run.” All of the recruits ran in formation past bleachers jammed with family and friends. There were over 700 graduates so it’s easy to envision how crowded and loud this event was. Day two was the graduation ceremony itself, and I must admit, I teared up quite a bit! My granddaughter turned 18 while in boot camp and all of the other graduates were young adults around her age. Something about hearing these young people take their oath in unison (committing themselves to four years of dedicated service) will stay with me forever. In my opinion, taking an oath is an extraordinarily significant event in a person’s life and it doesn’t expire. It was a very emotional experience for me.

Immediately after the ceremony, we were allowed down on the parade ground to “collect our Airman.” I was struck by the demeanor of the numerous graduates I had the honor to meet. These young adults were confident and polite. Each of them that I met shook my hand firmly, looked me in the eye and called me sir. That may sound silly to some, but for me, that type of individual bearing speaks volumes about the character of the person I’m meeting. I was beyond impressed by these people.

The following day, we were able to take our granddaughter into San Antonio and allow her to explore a little. She was completely caught off guard (and more than a little embarrassed) by the way she was treated by people she passed on the street. Countless times she was stopped and thanked for her service and commitment. I watched her closely during these interactions and witnessed the character traits mentioned about. She had a spring in her step and her self-confidence was evident.

On Sunday, we were able to attend church with our granddaughter. The church itself was huge, but was nearly filled with 400-500 Air Force trainees in all phases of training. The energy in the building was absolutely incredible. The positive attitude, confidence and esprits de corps of the trainees was infectious.

I have two more military boot camp graduations to attend in the very near future. My grandson expects to find out his ship date for Air Force boot camp in the next two weeks. As I write this, my other granddaughter is at Los Angeles International Airport preparing to ship out to Parris Island, South Carolina, for Marine Corps boot camp. She too is only 17 years old. I just got off the phone with her and don’t know when I’ll talk to her next. She laughed when she told me that she was being assigned to “Papa” company (the nickname given to me by the grandkids). To say that I’m a proud “Papa” would be an understatement! Guess I better stock up on the tissues.

Blaine Blackstone is a retired Los Angeles Police Sergeant who enjoys the simpler life in Thompson Falls. He can be reached by email at [email protected].