Michael's Air Force Graduation

Michael graduated from the Air Force! I am so proud of him and lucky to call him my boyfriend! The whole time getting to San Antonio TX I was so anxious and couldn't wait to see Michael! The entire experience was amazing and I was very happy to see my Airman! He's a lot like himself before he left but he has picked up skills like responsibility, public appearance, timing, cleanliness and much more. The weather was amazing and yes, very hot. Here's the video of his graduation and below I'll explain how the graduation works if you're interested or need help.

Thursday

7:00 A.M. you go to the Air Force base for a briefing that explains the rules of what you and your Airman are and aren't allowed to do, it is very important!

8:00 A.M. is the Airman's run where you can try to see your Airman for the first time, it is kind of difficult because families are swarming the areas you're allowed to be and if you don't catch you Airman's flag with his FLT number on it you might have to be searching through all the men running.

9:00 A.M. if you missed the briefing at 7:00 A.M. don't worry because they will have a second one st this time

9:45 A.M. there will be a briefing for future spouses of Airman, I missed it but it will be very helpful information!

10:30 A.M. will be the coin ceremony, it is really important for you to figure out what group he will be in during the coin ceremony. The TV's will have names in alphabetical order and tell you who is in what group, Michael was in Parish. So we looked on the papers that they give you when you first walk in where Parish would be on the deck. We sat as close as we could to his group and found him in the group of men! When the coin ceremony is over you get the opportunity to "tap out" your Airman (tap out means you run down and touch your Airman allowing him to move and leave with you) and you have Base Liberty. Base Liberty is when you can spend time with your Airman on base only. The base provides a bowling alley, a museum, multiple BX Exchange (a mall basically) and a movie theater. We spent our time in the BX Exchange shopping, eating (a lot) and just simply spending time with Michael and catching up.

5:00 - 8:00 P.M. Your Airman are due back to their Squadron area. The time of return may very depending on how much time has been taking away from him throughout BMT. The only Airman that don't get time taken away from them are the Honor Grads who made up only 10% of all the Airmen graduating. It takes a lot to be a Honor Grad and it is very difficult to achieve. Michael didn't get it but we don't love him any less or expected him to get it. He did not get that much time taken away from him and we were extremely happy to hear he did very well and he was often looked up to and liked by his MTI's! Time getting taken away is a FLT punishment, if a FLT does bad all together they all get time taken away or if one or two messes up in a FLT the WHOLE FLT still have time taken away. It teaches them to work together as a team and become stronger.

Friday

7:15 A.M. is another briefing in case you missed the other two Thursday

7:15-8:30 A.M. Handicap buses depart for parade grounds

9:00 A.M. Graduation Parade begins and you can check on the paper to see where your Airman will be standing by his group name. It does not matter where you sit because they come and march on a track crossing the blue line symbolizing they're Airman. The only advice I can give to stand so when they pass you can run up and get a close look instead of being stuck sitting in the stands. After the parade WALK back to his Squadron and you get the first look of his dorm, locker, bed and etc. I say WALK because we tried to drive back and only got stuck in traffic and almost got him in trouble for almost being late. We only had a minute to see his dorm and he was called into his Dayroom for a briefing over the rules during Town Pass. They will not be allowed to eat and walk, they have to eat on location. They can't walk and talk on the phone but they may be on the phone sitting/standing still in privacy. They will tell you what they can and can not do but make sure it clear with him/her if it's okay to do something, you'll be surprised!

10:15-11:15 A.M. Airmen are released for Town Pass. They are many things to do in San Antonio but make sure you stay in it, they will get in trouble for leaving the area! Thankfully it's a huge city with fun attractions like the river walk, wax museum, Sea World, Six Flags and etc. There are many places to eat and don't be afraid to try anything new! Michael and I really enjoyed Rita's on the Riverwalk!

8:00-10:00 P.M. Airmen are due back to the Squadron Area. The time depends on if they are able and want to go to a baseball game close by. I'm not sure if it's like that ALL year long but it was something Michael was able to do and we went. Make sure your Airmen is allowed to do it and that they take the ticket back to the Squadron so they have proof they went. You can actually buy the tickets and spend another two hours doing whatever you'd like but as long as they have a ticket they can return without getting in trouble. And if your Airmen is due back at a certain time because they had time taken away from them, going to the baseball game over rides it and you can spend more time with him!

Saturday

9:00-10:00 A.M. Town Pass is all day and depending on how much time was taken from them or if they went to the second baseball game they can be returning to the Squadron at different times. Be sure to they can go to the game and that they bring a ticket back with them!

Sunday

9:00 A.M.- 6:00 P.M. Base Liberty. You can do anything on base and some Airmen might have to return back to the Squadron Area sooner than the others because their FLT had time taken away from them so we actually had to say our good byes at 5:00 P.M.

So when you get to see/hear from them again?

After your Airmen graduates they will move out of their squadron area and into dorms called "Airmen's Week Dorms" where only Airmen that just graduated will live for a week on base. This week will be teaching them how to use what they've learned in BMT in real life and prepare them for Tech School. After their Airmen's week they will move out and ride a bus or fly to their Tech School depending on distance. Once the bus leaves the base the Airmen will be allowed to use their phones again. Michael is going to Fort Houston for his medical Tech School so he only has a three hour drive and no flight. I'm excited to hear from him Monday and I've read online that they will get to keep their phone (even at Tech School right away) but I'm not going to promise that. I've also hear that they get their phones back at Tech School with one to two weeks with good behavior. I think it varies and depends on the Tech School but I'm just crossing my fingers that he gets to keep it. This does not mean he can text me all day. He can not take it to classes but he can text me in the morning before and the afternoon after classes. His Tech School takes two months of learning for being an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) and after the two months he will earn two weeks to fly back home and see us again. He can actually stay for four weeks if he spends some time recruiting at the recruitment center near by.

I hope you enjoyed the video and that any of my information has helped you!