Up to Speed and FAQ's

Things are getting pretty crazy up in here. We're trying to get everything ready for our move out of Utah while still trying to take care of our normal stuff: school and work. Daniel is working on finishing up his classes with projects and exams. Just 2 weeks left! We are so excited! I'm trying to wrap things up with my class at school. I'm not able to finish the school year because of our move, so I'm trying to get them ready for their end of year testing, as well as come up with 6 weeks of sub plans to see them through the end of the year. We're going through our stuff and throwing out what we don't need/use and are trying to get more organized. Luckily I'm a pretty good organizer and I enjoy it, so that project is coming along nicely.

We bought a digital piano! It's my favorite possession next to my food processor. :-) We both play the piano and we wanted a digital one to save on weight, space and tuning through all our moves.

Here are some FAQ's that we've been getting and their answers:

Q: How do you feel about going to Mississippi?
A: We're really excited now. We've heard some great things about Columbus and are really looking forward to a very new cultural experience. We're optimistic and excited to live in the South.
Daniel's answer: We're trying to convince ourselves that we're excited. But as long as I think of flying I'm happy to go.  :-)

Q: Julie, are you going to try to get a job there?
A: Not really. I'd like to find a part time job or find volunteer work at a school, library or museum. I'm also thinking about tutoring. I'm tired of working full time and would like a chance to develop some talents and hobbies and take care of my husband and our home.

Q: Have you found a place to live yet?
A: No, but we'll be living on base so we're not worried about that.

Q: Do you need help packing up?
A: No, Air Force pays movers to come and pack up all our stuff and get it to Mississippi for us. But thanks for asking!

Q: Are you going to have kids now that Daniel's done with school?
A: I'll let you know when we're pregnant. If that answer isn't good enough for you, see Hebrews 13:22. If that still doesn't satisfy you, look up verse 18 in the same chapter. (Yes, I'm making you work for the answer to this question.)

Q: Julie, are you scared for Daniel to fly fighters in the Air Force?
A: Daniel has wanted to fly fighters since he was 2. If I wanted to be married to him, I had to accept his career choice. I want him to be safe, duh, but I want him to be happy with his job. I'm proud of him for working so hard for so long to reach his dream.

Q: How long are you planning on staying in the Air Force?
A: At this point Daniel wants to stay in the Air Force for at least 20 years. He would really like to make "Full Bird" Colonel, but he wouldn't turn down a promotion to General, especially if he could be the Four Star in charge of USAFE (United States Air Forces in Europe) at Ramstein AB, Germany.

Q: Does Daniel know what airplane he'll be flying?
A: Yes and no. In July he'll spend three weeks flying the DA20-C1, a sporty single engine prop plane. After that he'll fly the T-6A Texan II, a fully acrobatic single engine prop plane with ejection seats for six months. Then he'll track select, meaning either fighter/bomber track (flying the T-38 jet trainer), cargo/heavy track (flying the T-1 Jayhawk, like a small business jet), or helicopters (flying the UH-1 Huey). Hopefully he'll get the T-38 for six months and that completes Undergraduate Pilot Training. At that point, his graduation class will be assigned a random number of specific aircraft based on the needs of the Air Force (this is known as "drops"). Based on his class ranking first to last, each will pick from the offered aircraft which air frame they would like to fly. Maybe his class will drop a fighter, maybe not. There's no guarantee.

Q: Is Daniel going to be deployed?
A: At some point, yes, but not for a while. The pilot training process is pretty long. We'll be stationed at Columbus for about a year where he'll learn to fly a few different types of training aircraft. Then he'll be selected for a specific air frame and we'll be transferred to the base where they train pilots for that. That will take about a year. Then he may or may not have to spend a year in Korea doing some other training depending on his aircraft. Basically it'll be at least 3 years before he'll be mission qualified.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! :-) Let me know if there are other questions you have that I didn't answer.