Wednesday, 4 December, 2012
My recruiter convinced me that I needed to be an enlisted soldier before I could apply for flight school. This wasn't true, but I didn't know any better. I was the first in my family to join the military. I didn't have anyone mentoring me. My recruiter did do me one small favor. He gave me my choice of first duty assignments and recommended that I choose to be stationed at the home of Army Aviation and flight school--Fort Rucker, AL. He said that it would make it easier to put in my flight packet when that time came. Of course I had no idea how to know when that time came. I scored high on the ASVAB exam and had my choice of enlisted careers. I chose to become a helicopter mechanic or "crew chief". After Advanced Individualized Training, I was in fact assigned to a unit at Fort Rucker.
I immediately put in a packet for flight school with my unit's education officer. I later learned that my flight school packet never left his desk. Within...

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