Surviving Las Vegas – Military Memory Book
For the average college graduate, living in Las Vegas seems like a dream. For me, it was my first taste of wartime support operations. A cadence that would define the majority of my active-duty career.
If there wasn’t a deployment tasker looming over my head, it had likely found someone nearby. Even as a support officer working at a comfy desk in Sin City, I felt the rhythm of war daily. That was my favorite part of living there.
But years before I arrived, I had to decide on a job. My Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) selection was a decision I took very seriously.
“I’d known for sure that I wasn’t interested in flying (the Academy’s primary goal is to produce pilots). I also wasn’t interested in what were known as “techie” career fields.
-Hayden: Brave, Nellis AFB Chapter
Basically, anything that had to do with computers or hard engineering was out. With these limitations, I was left with few options.”
I ended up selecting Personnel, but it wouldn’t stick. It changed to Force Support by the time I graduated, which put me in the first Force Support Officer Course (FSOC).
FSOC Training
This training was the first one I enjoyed after graduation. Everything was new – the people, environment, curriculum, I learned a lot about the Air Force and my new job.
FSS school felt more like the Prep School than USAFA from an emotional standpoint. There was some classroom time, but most of the lessons were practical preparation for real-world operations. Several of my classmates already had deployment taskings.
-Hayden: Brave, Nellis AFB Chapter
Stress at Nellis
My time in Vegas was hectic. Work was a mountain of responsibilities that became steeper every day. I was struggling to connect with people outside of work, and I was overall still in a bad place emotionally and financially.
Thankfully, I had some great mentorship to make things easier at the MPS.
Here’s what I wrote about an outstanding Senior NCO I worked with back then.
Master Sergeant Karel Bean was the type of Senior NCO I’d been told about many times at the Academy. Technically skilled, outspoken, with gold-standard leadership ability, she was the perfect trainer for a young officer. I was fortunate to be paired up with her.
Hayden: Brave, Nellis AFB Chapter
Acceptance into OSI
This chapter ends on a high note – my successful application to become an agent with OSI. The odds were not in my favor. Upon acceptance I was one of four lieutenants to be selected during that particular selection board.
It was part luck, part dogged pursuit of self-improvement during my time in Vegas that set me apart.
This quote summarizes my greatest takeaway.
My time in Vegas had been challenging for many reasons. But I’d made it through to soar to even greater heights.
Hayden: Brave – Nellis AFB Chapter
The biggest lesson I learned while I was there?
Always ask. You never know what’s going to happen.
This chapter includes some impactful journal entries that really reminded me of how fast-paced life was at the time. It was a season of my life that felt like a stepping stone to something greater, but was still very important to my military story.
