Recently, I had the honor and privilege to attend a basic military training (BMT) graduation at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas which featured both the Air and Space Force’s graduations.

While I was excited to witness what I heard called BMT “magic”, I also was excited to look back on a time when I was a young wife and my husband enlisted in the Air Force in 1999.

We were in our mid-twenties and had been married a couple of years before we weighed all the pros and cons of every branch of service before choosing the Air Force and heading to the recruiter’s office together.

We asked the recruiter, we still remember his name to this day, many questions and the answers did not exactly line up with what ended up being our experience because 9/11 happened a mere 2 years into his initial enlistment.

That event changed Air Force life as we knew it to a brand-new military world with a high operations tempo.

Yet, driving around Lackland instantly brought me back to that moment in time when I watched my husband graduate BMT, and all that entailed for us. My husband graduated on Thanksgiving week in November of 1999. I had moved myself and our two cats to Wichita Falls, Texas where I knew he would be shipped to tech school after graduation.

I drove myself down from Wichita Falls to San Antonio to be there for his graduation. My memories are semi blurry of this time, but there are things that stand out in my mind, one of the days he met me in the Base Exchange food court, and I barely recognized him because they had shaved off all his hair, he had lost weight, and of course I had never seen him in his blues uniform before.

I remembered the BMT buildings, where the classrooms were, and having toured the barracks to see where he slept and how he lived during those weeks. I also remember where I was seated at the parade grounds and having a hard time finding him in the sea of airman graduating.

I remember the pass and review and all the military pageantry that I had never seen before and how proud I felt of him.

There is nothing that feels quite as patriotic as watching a military ceremony and seeing the traditions that are held so dearly by our military community. 

This time, I was there on more official business representing our unit as the Key Support Liaison rather than participating as a family member of an airmen or guardian presently graduating. Having 20 years of my husband’s active-duty service to reflect on, this gave me such an interesting view.

My children are also the age of many of these brand-new recruits, and it was hard to imagine being a mother to one of them as they graduated.

I felt the feelings of both pride and admiration for what it means to sign up to serve your country as I watched the beautiful scene unfold of the pageantry, the Airman/Guardian tears, and the family reunions. 

Graduation week in San Antonio encompasses several days of events.  

On Tuesday, the guardians participated in a patching ceremony that is unique to the Space Force where leadership talks to the Guardians and puts their first patches on their uniform with a handwritten note from another Guardian who is actively serving.

Space Force’s core values are character, connection, courage, and commitment.

This patching ceremony is one way that Space Force has chosen to integrate the core value of connection into the beginning of the new Guardian’s career in the Space Force.

Then on Wednesday, the Airmen and Guardians participated in a coining ceremony where they receive their first military coin. Military coining is a tradition that dates back to Roman times and is a tradition that is carried on today, they are called “challenge coins”.

The Guardians also had an additional ceremony to honor their families and it is another way that the Space Force integrates the core value of connection into the Guardians and their families.

The families were shown a special video, and then the Guardians took a special Space Force pin they were given and pinned them on family members. There were a lot of cheers after the video and tears as the families received their pins from their Guardians.

On Thursday morning, graduation week wrapped up with the graduation ceremony.

This graduation was presided over by Space Force’s Lieutenant General Deanna Burt, where she called out commands and then gave an inspiring talk to rally the new Airmen and Guardians which she concluded with this question, “Are you prepared to join the ranks of the World’s greatest Air and Space Force?”

The Airmen and Guardians, without hesitation, shouted a response with their respective services mottos. The Air Force’s motto is, “Aim High, Fly, Fight, Win” and the Space Force’s motto is “Semper Supra” which means “always above”. 

It was a powerful moment felt by all. After this, they took the oath of enlistment, which had me tearing up as the words they recite hold so much meaning of promise and commitment.

After the conclusion of the ceremony, the families went to “tap out” their members from formation and enjoy the rest of their time together before their Airman/Guardian get sent to their next training.

I really enjoyed my time there in San Antonio watching graduation and reminiscing about my husband and my past life when he enlisted.

I feel so charged up to continue to advocate for military families because those young Guardians deserve the best resources for their future and current families. Watching our Space Force service members build a brand-new service has been something that I am proud of.

It has not been an easy task and they are faced with many challenges. Yet, they continue to show up and do their best every day.

 Everyone has different reasons for why they choose to serve in the United States military.

All are honorable and admirable, because it is not easy and they need the support of not only their families, but of the whole country as they embark on this journey.

This is why I feel inspired to continue to highlight what it is like to be a military family, and what all we go through.

I know that being a military spouse has afforded me many opportunities that I would not have otherwise had, and yet, I also know that it has been a life of continual difficulties that are abnormal to our civilian counterparts’ lives.

I am thankful for what I have learned through my life experiences.

I believe I have only grown stronger as a person as I have had to find my own way through many things, but I also have found that along the way the right mentors helped me by sharing their wisdom they gained through their life experiences.

I hope I can take what I have learned and help others also in any way I can. That is what keeps me going when I want to be done with this whole military life. 

*For more from Anna, Visit her M:M Author Page.