I was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, where I spent the first few years of my life. I then moved to Waltham, Massachusetts, where I stayed until I was 17, living mainly with my grandmother... During my youth I worked as a newspaper boy,
construction, janitorial and custodial work, and (of course) at a McDonald's as a cook, cashier, and assistant manager.
But while still working there I decided it would not be my long
term goal, so I joined a friend and we took the Armed Services
Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
to enlist in the Air Force together. We also joined on the
Delayed Entry Program, at age 16, with our parents blessing. I left my last job (McDonald's) shortly before I graduated high school, Waltham High School, Waltham, Massachusetts (in 1980), and
flew down to Texas after in processing to the US Air Force. I
originally enlisted in the military as a Nuclear Weapons Specialist (no kidding) and while on delayed entry, was told that the waiting list was about a year long. I asked what job specialties were open NOW, and shortly thereafter, I joined the
US Air Force as a Security Policeman, Law Enforcement Specialist. That's right, Uncle Sam gave ME a gun, actually several guns, some of which were pretty big,
and lots of training!! After completing six months of training in Texas, at both
Lackland AFB and
Camp Bullis, I was asked where I would LIKE to be stationed, so I asked for an assignment on the East Coast. I made 10 choices, with my first designated choice as Hanscom Field, Lexington, Massachusetts.
So, I was promptly sent to
Howard AFB/Albrook Air Force Station
(video
from 2012), in the Panama Canal Zone. I was there from December 1980 through December 1983
(through Presidents Carter and Reagan). Although I would have stayed longer, I was denied the opportunity to stay there any longer
by
my commander, who told me I was having too much fun! So I again asked for an assignment to the East Coast.
And I was promptly sent to Little Rock AFB,
Arkansas! I can recall to this day my amazement at being sent to an area I only knew from the history books as a place of racial strife and a backwoods lifestyle.
I was mildly surprised to discover that Arkansas was not only
hillbillies and rednecks... I spent several years in Law
Enforcement here as well, but got bored with the mentality of my
commanders and
evaluated my options. I did some studying in other career fields while at Little Rock Air Force Base (LRAFB), including the Office of Special Investigation
(AFOSI), but was FINALLY able to change careers and began my NEW career as a Disaster Preparedness
(DP) Technician. No more crappy field exercises and work shifts for ME!!
My NEW job had no mobility positions, which meant I was safe within the confines of the Little Rock area, no more tours outside of the United States...
Unfortunately that lasted less than TWO years, soon, we were
also absorbed into the big plans of the Air Force and assigned to mobility positions, and over time I found myself deployed around the world, again...even working with those I had left behind years ago
that were still in Law Enforcement!! We were commonly referred to as the "bugs and gas" guys. The closest thing I can compare it to, would be the military version of civil defense. Although we (the military version) also had to deal with the things the military is trained for, in addition to the standard emergencies Civil Defense is trained for. Warfare. Conventional warfare, small arms, heavy weapons, aircraft, missiles, bombs; and then add in Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) warfare, contamination, survival, etc. Not a pleasant thought, but it was a reality in the military. In January of 1990, I completed my Associate's Degree in Applied Science (Disaster Preparedness related curriculum) in order to complete my military education requirements. During this time, I was able to start progressing towards developing a background in Computer Operations/Technician related areas (self taught) and I worked hard to force the Air Force to allow another career change into Communications -- Computer Operations. I was able to fulfill all background requirements to allow me to obtain a secondary Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) in computer operations, and proceeded to obtain the education requirements. This was in additional to my normal day job. I completed over 44 hours of schooling towards my Associate's Degree in Information Services, Computer Operations.
Although I attempted to change career fields again, the USAF stated (in 1991) that I would be stuck in the DP career field until I retired...or died.
Seriously, my hopes of leaving were cut off at the knees. So, this attempt to cross-train failed
and the explanation I was given was due to the urgent need, (later verified by the overall LACK of USAF preparation
in Desert Shield/Desert Storm) to continuer to train Air Force personnel in
Readiness. Over time, the military had been through a LOT of changes (with more to come), many were NOT so pleasant, so I decided that I was NOT going to stay nine more years in something I no longer wanted to do, or was happy doing. So, when the opportunity presented itself in 1994, I was offered (and jumped on) the chance to retire early. So, in 1995, I retired from the
U.S. Air Force (USAF), with 15 years and six days of Active Duty (15 years of service was the MINIMUM requirement), at the ripe old age of 33 (and five days). I had already obtained employment by a local information services company in Little Rock, performing duties as a computer technician. Nice rates, the company billed my time at around $100 per hour, minimum charge of ONE hour, for service calls. While there I sought out other employment opportunities and
after several interviews with different organizations, I
elected to take the one that paid less, but was closer to home
and accepted a position at the Veterans Administration (VA). I started in the Acquisition and Materials Management Service, (A&MMS), in North Little Rock, on July 9, 1995, as a Computer Assistant. I've changed sections
and jobs a few times, but stayed with Information Technology (IT), and have moved up through the
pay grades, and am still employed at the VA.
In May 2016, as part of the MyVA Field
Operations Transformation, I was “realigned” to the OI&T SDE
Enterprise Service Lines, as part of a breakthrough priority
established by the VA. This MyVA Transformation was being
considered as an exciting, meaningful change for OI&T and the
realignment of my position was just one of the steps necessary
to ensure the appropriate processes, tools, and alignments were
made to ensure its success. In the Office of Information &
Technology (OI&T), Service Delivery and Engineering (SDE),
Servers and Operating Systems (SOS), Little
Rock Section, as an Information Technology (IT) Analyst.
So, in a nutshell, I was in Federal Service for 45
years:
- Military, retired through the TERA program
in 1995, completing just over 15 years with the
U.S. Air Force
-
Five years
in Law Enforcement , primary
duty, with a secondary as Office
of Special Investigations (OSI)
-
Cross
trained into Disaster
Preparedness, spent ten years
with that as my primary duty,
and picked up another secondary in small computer
operations
-
The week after I retired, I
then started with the DVA and have been here
over 29 years, as:
-
A Computer
Assistant, GS335-5
-
Moved to
Computer Specialist, GS335-7 in
1996
-
Promoted to
Computer Specialist, GS335-9
-
Promoted to
Computer Specialist, 099790,
GS335-11
-
I requested
a desk audit in 2003 and upon
completion, we received a
reassignment to Information
Technical Specialist (System
Administration), GS2210-12
-
Was at the
site when each still had Domain
Administrator access…and was part of
the IT rights reduction
throughout the IT range…
-
Have been a jack
of all trades,
master of none
for quite some
time, but have
been adapting to
computers since
the mid 1980's,
but finally
retired on
August 1st,
2024?
My hobbies are basically taking pictures
with film (cameras), computers, guns, fast vehicles, movies,
music, and reading related magazines.
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