u/DwightDEisenhowitzer

On Wednesday, I’ll depart Keesler for effectively the final time. What I’ll have to show afterwards for my service (besides a broken down body) will be some ribbons, TSgt insignia, old uniforms and a flag in a shadowbox. If nothing else - there’s only two pieces of advice I’d give to someone else who’s still in.

1 - Focus on what matters. I’ve never won monthly/quarterly/etc awards and that’s not what I’m dwelling on. What I will remember is the men and women of the Air Force that I met along the way. I won’t remember any of my awards (unless the retirement MSM I put myself in for shits and giggles just to see if they approve it gets approved). I’ll instead remember the friends I made and the thanks I got from Airmen of all ranks for helping them or guiding them out of a sticky situation. Those Airmen are what kept me going when my own mental and physical health were telling me to stop.

2 - Fucking take care of yourself. Take your leave if you need it. Go to medical when something isn’t right. Jokes about medical aside we have arguably the best health insurance the United States has. Fucking use it if something isn’t right. Two reasons - 1 - you deserve to feel your best! And 2 - when it comes time to tell the VA what doesn’t work right anymore they’re gonna want records. Some of the same people who harass you for making medical appointments will be the same people crying that they’re getting fucked by the VA when their service connection comes back as 10% or less.