Yesterday I was promoted to Major in the United States Air Force. The ceremony was on Sunday, the last day of July, but the "official" day of promotion was yesterday. The rank of Major is a milestone in the military because it represents a step up from the "company grade" ranks to the "field grade" ranks. This is supposed to represent the increased leadership responsibilities and burden as an officer progresses through a career.
This was the third time I've been promoted in the military (the first three are pretty regularly scheduled, 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant at two years, 1st Lieutenant to Captain two years later, and Captain to Major about 6 years later), and the second time I've been promoted in a war zone. Each time I've been promoted I've been lucky to have someone I care about perform the ceremony.
My first promotion happened the day before I left Kuwait in 2003. Mission Accomplished had been declared in OIF, and we had no clue what kind of hornet's nest had been stirred up. I was at the end of a 190-day deployment, which back in those days was really an anomaly. I remember being happy to have the ceremony in front of the Airmen that I served with in Kuwait, and having my good friend Derek administer the oath. I also remember thinking I was cool for not having my squadron commander, who was not well liked, promote me. I've grown up a bit since then...
The second promotion of my career happened on one of the best weekends of my life, Memorial Day Weekend 2005. I married Ashley on the 29th, and her father promoted me to Captain on the 30th. It was very impressive to see him put on his Army Service Dress more than 10 years after he'd retired, looking like he could step right back into command.
Even though those two ceremonies were very special, I think it will be hard to top this one. My previous boss in Korea, a 3-star general, was able to connect to our building via Video Teleconference and officiate my promotion as about 30 of my colleagues looked on, and my mom and dad watched over Skype. What's even cooler is that when Ashley's computer died, my dad was able to connect to her on his cell phone, which usually has worse service than in the Sudan, and she could hear the remarks from my old boss coming from a conference room on the other side of the world. It was a very special ceremony because I had the people who mattered the most there, even if they were there via Skype. I never cease to be amazed when I think about how people dealt with separation during World War I and II, Vietnam, and even the first Gulf War. My generation is truly lucky to not be burdened by the utter loss of communication when they are away from their loved ones.
I plan to post at least 3 more times over the next week, and then I'll go quiet for a bit because I'm moving to a new base. Until the next time, stay safe...
This was the third time I've been promoted in the military (the first three are pretty regularly scheduled, 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant at two years, 1st Lieutenant to Captain two years later, and Captain to Major about 6 years later), and the second time I've been promoted in a war zone. Each time I've been promoted I've been lucky to have someone I care about perform the ceremony.
My first promotion happened the day before I left Kuwait in 2003. Mission Accomplished had been declared in OIF, and we had no clue what kind of hornet's nest had been stirred up. I was at the end of a 190-day deployment, which back in those days was really an anomaly. I remember being happy to have the ceremony in front of the Airmen that I served with in Kuwait, and having my good friend Derek administer the oath. I also remember thinking I was cool for not having my squadron commander, who was not well liked, promote me. I've grown up a bit since then...
The second promotion of my career happened on one of the best weekends of my life, Memorial Day Weekend 2005. I married Ashley on the 29th, and her father promoted me to Captain on the 30th. It was very impressive to see him put on his Army Service Dress more than 10 years after he'd retired, looking like he could step right back into command.
Even though those two ceremonies were very special, I think it will be hard to top this one. My previous boss in Korea, a 3-star general, was able to connect to our building via Video Teleconference and officiate my promotion as about 30 of my colleagues looked on, and my mom and dad watched over Skype. What's even cooler is that when Ashley's computer died, my dad was able to connect to her on his cell phone, which usually has worse service than in the Sudan, and she could hear the remarks from my old boss coming from a conference room on the other side of the world. It was a very special ceremony because I had the people who mattered the most there, even if they were there via Skype. I never cease to be amazed when I think about how people dealt with separation during World War I and II, Vietnam, and even the first Gulf War. My generation is truly lucky to not be burdened by the utter loss of communication when they are away from their loved ones.
I plan to post at least 3 more times over the next week, and then I'll go quiet for a bit because I'm moving to a new base. Until the next time, stay safe...
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