BMT and Tech School

After we found out that he was leaving in May we decided to try to sell our house (which didn’t work so it is now a rental house). We moved in with his grandmother in March or April, I can’t remember, either way, she had 2 extra rooms so the plan was for me and Tybee to live with her while TJ was gone for BMT and tech school. It really worked out great since she only lives like 9 miles from my work but still close to my family, only downside is she lives the ghetto! The time went by really quickly. After our friends and family said good-bye to the shaggy-haired TJ that we all love, I drove us to Montgomery. That night, May 4, 2009, we stayed in a hotel room and the next morning after a very sad good-bye, I followed the bus Maxwell-Gunter AFB in Montgomery. I waited the entire day for him to go through his final trip to MEPS. After hours of sitting alone in a freezing cold room, they called me to a room where I watched him swear in. I couldn’t help but cry, I knew it was extremely hard for TJ to leave me behind but I was so proud to be the wife of a man willing to do that for our future and our country. It was the most bitter/sweet feeling I have ever felt. Pride and honor rushed through me as I watched him raise his hand and promise to serve and protect our great nation. When it was time for me to leave he walked me to the car. It was so hard to let him go but I knew I had to be strong for him. I actually surprised myself with being so strong. I had a 3-day field trip with my nephew the day after he left so I didn’t have time to really dwell. When I got home that night and pulled back the covers I found little notes that TJ had wrote! He put them under pillows, in jean pockets, in my makeup vanity, just the sweetest thing ever! I wasn’t expecting the first call so soon but 2 days after he left I was walking up the huge staircase to the Gatlinburg Aquarium with my suitcase, cooler, pillow and back pack when my phone rang. When I saw that it was an out of state number I dropped everything down the stairs to pick it up and frantically started looking for my pen and pad. He calmly said, Bonnie I miss you and I love you and I am safe, I only have a few seconds so here it goes, this is my address. And that was it, I didn’t hear from him again for 2 weeks. He only called 6 times the 8.5 weeks he was there and I got a letter every Thursday. The time went by quickly; I went to work, spent time with family and basically went on with life as usual. He was scheduled to graduate July 3. Since it was a holiday week we got to spend a whole extra day wit him! His parents, sister, grandmother and I all drove to San Antonio on Sunday or Monday (memory is failing me!) His other sister flew in on Thursday and surprised TJ! We got to see TJ for his coin ceremony on Wednesday. We watched all the guys run by during the Airman’s run but we couldn’t pick TJ out of all the bald heads bobbing up and down!! It was amazing seeing him for the first time. I have always been proud of the man that TJ is, he is so humble and kind, but seeing him marching in his blues took my breath away. I could not take my eyes off of him, I knew from the letters that he had changed and matured a lot but I had no idea how much he had really changed. After the way- to-long ceremony in the 109 degree Texas heat we got to go find him in the big crowd of Airman and families. His parents got to him first but he totally ignored him when he saw me, I can not describe what I felt when he wrapped his sweaty arms around me!! Of course he could only hug for 3 seconds and no touching while in uniform and that was hard to get used to but we managed! His parents were nice enough to leave us alone in the hotel while they went to eat and explore Lackland. It was so strange; he was like a whole new man. He had lost more than 50 pounds before he left for BMT but he was down 90 pounds total and he was nothing but skin and bones. His waist was smaller than mine, it was bazaar. We got to spend about 2 hours together alone before his family came back! He couldn’t leave the base that day but we enjoyed just sitting in his presence. We had to take him back to the dorms at like 7:30 which was hard, but just knowing that we were at least in the same city was nice. We were lucky enough to get a room at the Air Force Inn on base. The next day was the longest, he had a parade and graduation ceremony then we could have him again until about 8 or 9pm. Friday we got him at like 8am and could keep him until like 9 that night, Same for Saturday. We did a lot of sight seeing, eating and SeaWorld. You should have seen him eat, he didn’t have caffeine or any fried foods for almost 9 weeks so to watch him enjoy each bite was really fun. Sunday was really sad. We went to a Church ceremony with him and went to the main exchange and to the bowling alley. We didn’t get to say good-bye alone, but that was probably for the best. I actually didn’t cry but it was so hard to let him go. A lot of people don’t realize that it just as hard for the man to be gone. I was lucky enough to have his family, my family and all of my friends to support me the entire time he was gone, but he had no one. He handled everything really well to be strong for me, but I could really tell how lonely he was. That very night after we left he got on a bus and headed to Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was actually born on that same base. He wasn’t allowed to have his cell at BMT but he was able to text me all the way to Keesler which was very nice! We were able to go see him 3 or 4 times while he was there and he rented a car and came home twice! His actual school there was for general electronics and it was 8 weeks long. He did really well and got something called Distinguished Graduate!! After he graduated Keesler he got on a bus headed for Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas. He didn’t start school right away, I think he had to wait a month and I am almost sure his school there is either 26 or 18 weeks long. He is training to do Avionics on the F-22 Raptor. It is a really cool job and he is really lucky to have it. He has always been extremely smart, but in high school and college he didn’t really apply himself, I can’t begin to tell you how good he is doing in this school and his school at Keesler. He gets mad when he misses 1 question on a test, I am so proud!! He seems to really enjoy learning about the F-22 and he is really passionate about doing good so we can put all this school behind us and start the fun part of our Air Force journey!


This is where this part of my story ends. He is currently still at Sheppard, scheduled to graduate January 21, 2010(possibly the week before)!! After his graduation we are moving to our first duty station, Holloman AFB in New Mexico! At first we wanted somewhere a bit more exciting but after lots of research we have found that Holloman actually has a lot to offer and we are really happy about moving out west! TJ gets to come home for Christmas December 20 – January 1, 2010!!