Drop Night is Coming!

Drop night is QUICKLY approaching, and I just wanted to write about it and what it means to us.

First and foremost, it is set for Friday, June 2nd, 2017 at 7:00PM for Dan's class at ENJJPT.

What is drop night? I get asked this question ALL. THE. TIME. Drop night is when the student pilots from one class (my husband is at Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) at Sheppard Air Force Base, but there are three other Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) bases too - Vance AFB, Laughlin AFB, and Columbus AFB) find out IN FRONT OF EVERYONE what plane they will be flying for their Air Force career.

Dan is specifically in class 17-06, but there is a drop night every six weeks here at Sheppard. The dates vary with the other three UPT bases, but drop nights happen at regular intervals.

How are the student pilots selected for their aircraft assignments? I also hear this one a lot. The student pilots are ranked within their flights and their classes (each class has two flights) based on several factors from their training, check rides, etc. throughout the year-long program. They also get to submit a "dream sheet", where they rank each and every aircraft the Air Force has to offer, starting with their top choice and going all the way to last place. Based on their ranking AND what they hope the fly, the people who choose just kind of go down the list.

What does Dan hope to fly? This is probably the most frequent question I get from family and friends - ALL THE TIME! While he certainly has preferences (and I'll get to those), he has longed to be an Air Force pilot for so long that he will just be happy to get paid to fly anything! He's not one of those people (and oh do they exist!) who will be super upset and unable to function if he doesn't get one of his top choices. But, hey, Air Force Gods... it wouldn't hurt to give him one anyway! ;-) Dan's top three planes on his dream sheet are the F-35, F-22, and F-15E. We really struggled to place those in any kind of order, though, so if he gets ANY of those top three, it'll be like winning the jackpot! His next three are the F-16, A-10, and F-15C, which would still be cool but aren't AS desirable. Then, he skips down to the heavies - or cargo planes - C-130, C-17, C-21, C-5, etc. After the heavies come the bombers and finally FAIPing, which is what we absolutely do NOT want (staying here at Sheppard and him being an instructor pilot - he's already a 1st Lieutenant, prior enlisted, and pretty old for the average student pilot), so we're hoping to avoid this step, but each drop has at least one and sometimes two in the mix... so we know it's still a possibility.

No matte what the outcome, we are just excited to KNOW so we can start planning our next move! That's right - whatever plane he is assigned also tells us what specific base we will be moving to! We won't know EXACTLY when, but we'll have a pretty good idea, and the planner in me is just dying to start looking at houses, activities for Annabelle, an OB and hospital for Baby Cookie #2, etc. I NEED TO KNOW.

This journey really has been a long time coming. When I met Dan in 2008, he was already in the Air National Guard and pursuing a degree in Aviation. He had always dreamed of flying in the Air Force, but that didn't seem like a reality until he was accepted into the Air Force Academy shortly after we started dating in 2009 and went active duty. Basically, our entire relationship has been focused on this one long-term dream and goal. He has poured every little bit of himself into being the best cadet, then officer, then Master's student, and now student pilot that he could possibly be in order to achieve his dreams. No matter what aircraft he is assigned to, we know it will be the right fit for our family because you just don't work this hard for nothing. It's all coming to fruition NEXT WEEK, He will still have three more weeks of pilot training after drop night before graduation, but I can already tell those three weeks are going to be so amazing because we'll KNOW everything we need to know. No more guessing. No more fretting.

This studly husband of mine has worked his tail off for NO JOKE eight years to achieve the goal of becoming a pilot in the world's greatest Air Force. And here we are... about to watch an absolute DREAM COME TRUE. (I'm not proud or anything... ;-) )

Please pray, send good wishes, positive thoughts, crossed fingers, etc. our way next week, as I know we will both be an anxious, nervous wreck!

Dan's T-38 Solo Flight at ENJJPT

Last August (which feels like an eternity ago, to be honest), I blogged about Dan's solo flight in the T-6. He has now soloed in the T-38 and is well on his way to completely pilot training at ENJJPT (Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training) at Sheppard Air Force Base. He's such a stud, and I am SO proud of him. He is putting in a lot of hard work and long days, but it's all for the best for him and our family, and one day, when this is all over with, it will be worth it!

Unfortunately for his solo, no one was available to take Annabelle and me out to the flight line like we were able to for his T-6 solo. Everyone was busy flying at the same time that day, so it just didn't work out. But I made sure he snapped a photo afterward anyway!

The T-38 is a lot faster (and more fun, according to Dan) than the T-6. He has been having a blast flying it. Since his solo, he has also passed his first check ride! More to come, though!

Pilot training certainly isn't for the faint of heart. And I can definitely see why there are so few married student pilots and even fewer with children. Dan is gone ALL DAY five days a week. He gets to see Annabelle for about an hour a day ON GOOD DAYS. We're sacrificing so much time with him right now, and the single parenting gig isn't easy. BUT we try to make up for it on the weekends. Annie is SO excited when she gets to see him and play with him.

Drop night is quickly approaching, though, and that will bring an end to this crazy season... as least for a while. (B Course or whatever follow-on assignment he gets based on his assigned plane will be just as crazy, but we'll hopefully have a short break in between!)

Since many people have asked what drop night is, I'll give a quick run-down. Basically, all of the student pilots in one class (about 25) will receive their assignments (aka what plane they'll be flying for their Air Force careers, along with their first base) in a public setting on base on a Friday night. Drop nights happen every six weeks at Sheppard, and they're SO much fun. One at a time, the student pilots take turns standing up in front of everyone and learning their entire future right along with the hundred of people filling the room. It's exhilarating, nerve-racking, and crazy all at once. There's free beer involved and lots of screaming! It's a really fun tradition... but just know that my own husband is the one in the hot seat, I'm going to be one big ball of nerves. He has just under 11 weeks to go until it's his drop night! Only one more takes place before his. AAHHHH!

Exciting Air Force News!!!

As many of you know, my fiancé is graduating from the United States Air Force Academy on May 28th, 2014.

We have been in suspense for a while now, waiting for his AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code... or job title), especially since the government shutdown happened in October when the Firsties (seniors) were originally supposed to find out.

Well, they had their AFSC Drop Night tonight, and it's a darn good thing his butt looks so cute in a flight suit because...

DAN IS GOING TO BE AN AIR FORCE PILOT! 

We will find out in early 2014 if we will move to Texas, Oklahoma, or Mississippi for his pilot training, and we will head there after his graduation/our wedding. 

I am SO proud of him. He has worked his butt off for the past four and a half years, and all of that hard work is finally paying off! God is good. 

Air Force Academy Senior Year Excitement

I haven't written an update about Dan's life at the Air Force Academy in a while, and since he's a Firstie now (First Class Cadet -- otherwise known as a senior in college), life is getting pretty exciting!

Yesterday, Dan attended the official AFSC Briefing, where he learned about all of his job options. He, of course, is hoping to be a pilot, so he didn't need to know too much!

As of today, Dan can begin entering his top jobs, beginning with pilot! He will enter five other jobs, but each year, the top half of the cadet wing (or more!) receive pilot slots when they request them. Dan is in right about the top 10% of his class, so as long as he is medically cleared (so far, so good!), he should receive his job of choice.

He will find out his AFSC (job) sometime in October. I cannot wait for that moment; it will be SO GREAT to know for sure what he will be doing for the Air Force during his career.

This guy seriously looks dang good in a flight suit, so send him some positive vibes to get his job of choice!

Now that I've shown off my man enough (but seriously -- flight suit green must be his color!), I'll share the four possible base options for UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training)... this is all assuming he gets a pilot slot. UPT will last about a year and a half, and since Dan has his private pilot's license, he will not need to attend IFS (Initial Flight Screening), which would otherwise take up about a month to a month and a half beforehand.

The four base options are: 

1. Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas
2. Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma
3. Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas
4. Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Mississippi

Dan won't find out his base until sometime in December, and we will move there after our wedding and honeymoon next summer. The end of July is when his 60 Days will be over (the 60 days post-graduation are completely free for him with NO military commitments whatsoever -- can you say EXCITING?!?!?!), so that is an approximate time we will be moving to our first base together! If he doesn't receive a pilot slot, however, there are plenty of other base options for us... but things are looking up! 

Military Monday: Uniforms

As a language arts teacher, I really like words that flow together. Military Monday seems to do just that. If there happened to be just one more word that started with an "M", it would even be alliteration. Maybe I should call it "Magnificent Military Monday" instead... or perhaps "Marvelous Military Monday". No? Okay, I'll stop nerding out now.

The real point of this post is not about word choice, though, but rather it is about military uniforms. Maybe I am just missing Dan an extra lot right now, but hey, spring break is JUST around the corner! We have to make it  through only four more days of school / work before an entire glorious NINE DAYS together! Did I just digress again? Oops.

So, for those of you who are dating a man in the military (and even those who are not, I suppose), which is your favorite uniform? Dan is in the Air Force, and I like him in all three uniforms that I've seen him in with any regularity, but my favorite uniform? ABUs, hands down. I LOVE seeing him in that camouflage! However, his flight suit is a close second, which I suppose is good because that's what I better get used to seeing him in. Service dress is nice and all, but it's not my favorite. I have yet to see him in Mess Dress (but I will in May for USAFA's Ring Dance!), and I didn't include PC Gear in this. I also like Dan in his civilian clothing, but hey, there's just something sexy/handsome about a man in uniform!

ABUs (Air Battle Uniform) -- my #1

Flight Suit -- luckily my #2

Service Dress -- nice, but only my #3

Civilian Clothing -- always nice, but it's nothing special! 

So, what order do you like the uniforms?