Deciding to join Air Force special warfare; consider the 10 year trend

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Gilda Radner

Should you try Air Force special warfare?

If you are having a hard time deciding whether or not to give special warfare a shot, consider somethings I've learned about trying to plan out your life when you're young

What we want now may not be what we want 10 years from now

For people in their thirties, forties, and beyond, where they currently are, is not necessarily what they wanted be 10 years before.

Sometimes we know what we want in our lives. 

Actually, let me rephrase that.  Sometimes we think we know what we want.  We think we know what we want our careers to be.  We think we know what we want out of life and our futures.

When I was younger, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.  I looked at the people that had a plan with envy and feelings of inadequacy in my own life.  

 I realize now that we don't really know what we want most of the time.  Many people don't have their lives mapped out, but it doesn't stop them from doing great things.  

People may have had an idea of what they want, but they may have discover their passions through trial and error, and some people don't discover their true callings until later in life.

The best time to try different things is when we're young.

I wish I had someone explain these things to me when I was younger.  I didn't know shit about anything, and I still don't.  I don't want this to cause question in my credibility.  I want it to enhance it.  The first step to growing is realizing you don't know shit about anything.

Let me be an example of how to learn and grow because I've made so many mistakes in my life, I'd be a fool not to have grown from them.

I'm sure you may have read some of my past experiences, but in short, I didn't want the same things 10 years ago that I want now.  I'm 40 years old now, so 20 years ago I definitely didn't want what I want now.  Tons of life experience has hit me since then, and tons more will hit me by the time I'm 50.  

A little over 10 years ago, I thought I found the secret to my happiness.  A good paying, secure job in the FAA would solve all my problems.  

The FAA would solve the new problems I encountered, as I approached my thirties. 10 years before that, my plan was to join the Air Force and become a combat controller.  

The military was a good decision in my early 20's.  It would satisfy my need to get out of town, do something different, and feel special.  It would also help me be a part of something bigger than myself.  These are all great things.

While I was in the pipeline, I met my current wife, and found out we were gonna have a baby, my first born daughter.  

Uh oh.  Things changed.

By the time I was 28 the career of combat control didn't appeal to me as much as a safer job that would allow me to stay in one location and raise a family with better pay and benefits.  

The short time frame and opportunity ( for me) had quickly come and gone.

I got a chance to experience combat control.  I don't ever look back on the time I spent in the military with regrets because it was a big part of my growth and development.  Although I had no regrets ( and still don't), I made made a choice to do something else.  

My 10 year trend

Currently, the 10 year trend in happening again in my own life.  I'm much further down the road than many people reading this, so I'm gonna share what I mean.  

Around 10 years ago, I focused on landing a job in the FAA as an air traffic controller, but 10 years later I'm not the same guy.

A decade ago I left the military and put my focus on getting hired in my current career, but three years passed with no luck.  I panicked and made phone calls to mangers at different air traffic facilities, but I made no progress.  

I was living in a family member's house near Pensacola, Florida, and began to feel like a failure because my wife was working in a call center making about nine dollars per hour, as I stayed home with our daughter.  

This was a dark time for me.  I actually gained some momentum in the Air Force, but I felt like I made a huge mistake because my goal of a good job with steady pay and benefits was just out of reach.  

I left a secure gig in the Air Force, but I was without a job to support my wife and daughter.

I was almost 30 years old, yet the cut off age for getting hired was 31.  I remember falling into a state of depression as each hiring cycle passed me over. 

Despite applying for areas like New York, where I did not want to go because of the cost of living and high wash out rates, no dice.  

I did something during that time that I never thought I'd do.  It's something that I really want to do now, but have a different life situation.  I started a business.

I started a mobile detailing business and used my experience washing airplanes as a way to generate income.  I had connections with my father and made good money while I was in high school washing airplanes during the summer and after school.  

After a few months, I didn't get any business with airplanes, but I decided to mobile detail cars at banks, dentist and doctors offices, and different companies. I was fully self contained with my own power and water source.  I got creative because I didn't have much to lose. 

The business did really well and I found out that running my own business was enjoyable for me.  This was not in my thoughts in my early twenties; the military was my plan to solve all my issues.

Running a business did not cross my mind earlier in my life because my father always ran his own business, but he always told me, " get a good job, so you won't have to do what I do".  He ran his own body shop, and although he made great money, his body took a toll with many aches and pains.

As my detailing business grew, I started accepting that my life took a different direction than the FAA.  But I still had the pull to be in the FAA because the influence of my father and thoughts during my late twenties about getting a financially stable job were strong.  

In one last attempt to land the FAA job, I flew to the Omaha air traffic tower just before I turned 30.  I lived in Omaha while I was in the military and thought I'd give it a try after I was basically laughed at by the Pensacola tower manager because of my age.  According to him, it was too late for me.

The meeting with the Omaha manager went well, and on the last hiring cycle before I turned 31 I was hired at Omaha tower.  My interview was in Pensacola with the same manager that blew me off.

10 years ago I thought I won the lottery.  I got into one of the most high paying, stable jobs that still has a pension.  Although I did have some hesitation because I worked so hard to build a business and build a very loyal customer base, I gave up my business and moved to Omaha.

My next concern was not washing out of the FAA because I knew the job was difficult, and we all know combat controllers don't have a lot of experience doing air traffic control.

Now that I'm 40 ( 10 years later) I regret giving up a business that I worked hard to start and wish that I had my own business.

Thankfully I did fine and became certified in Omaha as an air traffic controller.

When I arrived at Omaha tower, I was surprised by how unhappy all the older guys were.  They seemed miserable.  I didn't understand how people making over 100K per year could ever be unhappy.  Well, 10 years later, I understand, so read on.

 I ended up transferring to Pensacola tower, and I now have three wonderful kids, nice home with some land and a pool, and a loving wife.  I have everything I thought I wanted 10 years ago, but something is missing.  Something big.

There is a void much bigger than I would have imagined 20, or even 10 years ago in my current life.

  I put myself into some vulnerable positions before I came to the comfortable place I'm at in my forties.  Deciding to join the military was the first, but without support from family or friends the decision of joining was hard and delayed, although I still did it.

 Getting out of the military was another decision that wasn't supported by many people I knew around 10 years later, especially by my immediate family.  I did these things anyway because I never really knew what I wanted to do.  For a while things were fine.

The FAA reality

My current job has become very routine and not as exciting as I imagined years ago.  I've never wanted to run a business more than I do now because I remember the way it felt to work on my own, not be controlled by someone else for work hours, and to not do a lot of things I think are ridiculous just because someone higher up says to do it.

I am tired of doing the same exact thing everyday, and not being recognized when I do a good job.  The only recognition comes when something goes wrong, and then the tapes are checked to make sure I didn't screw anything up.  Maybe this is why all the people in their fifties, at Omaha tower, were unhappy.

They were probably irritated with new people showing up that need to be trained, some that are not good at all, and they just wanted to be left alone because they've done it so long and were over it.

I still appreciate my job, but I realize I don't want what I thought I wanted earlier in my life.

When I was younger, I never imagined how unhappy could  become in this career because of how routine it gets.  I never imagined the incompetence of my co- workers and people in management positions above me.  I never imagined I'd be unsatisfied with my job.  It looked different 10 years ago.

I'm not saying my job is terrible; air traffic is a good job, but I think my personality and passions would be better suited around things I have a deeper interest in.  But that is what happens with growth and learning. 

 Can I still start a business?  Yes, but it would be different than when I was younger.  I have a lot more people depending on me and my future retirement than when I was at a different stage of life.  

I can't invest as much time into something new.  I can't just jump into things like I could have 20 years ago.  I must make the slow progress of committing to my current job and doing something on the side.  It's possible, but I know I could have got a business going ( like I did) when I was just starting out, and naturally I had more drive,  and more to prove.

This may sound like a lot of excuses.  I've spent a lot of time thinking about where I'm at and where I've been in the last 20 years.  

Here's what I came up with.  

As I've started sharing my experiences about my training and early life, I've gotten questions like:  " Should I give special operations a shot?"  

My answer, unless someone is physically unable to try it, is yes.

Yes, you should try it.  If it's on your mind, or if you think you might want to do it, then you probably should, especially if you are in your twenties, even late twenties. Hell, even thirty isn't too late.  

I want to focus on the people in their early twenties though.  

This something I kind of missed out on, but maybe I can help some of you out there to pay attention to where you are in this moment

Time

I'd argue that energy is one of our most important assets in life, but a close second is time.  

Plain and simple, I had way more time to commit to tasks back in my early twenties, and when I think back on how much time I wasted, I have some regret. 

There's nothing I can do about it now, but I can help others realize this fact.

When you are older, you will have regrets.  We all do, but the fewer you have, the happier you'll probably be.

There's no better time to try and accomplish something huge than when you are young.  You're more energetic, have more time, and are even more creative.

I know some people in their twenties are different circumstances than I did, like already have a family, mortgage, and even kids, but I'll bet you'll have more responsibilities and less time in your forties.  There's always exceptions, but for the most part, this fact is probably true.

Remember the 10 year trend

You're probably not going to be able to plan out your life in your twenties, especially your early twenties.  That's fine.  Although it's important to think about what you want to do, you're not the same as you'll be in another decade.

If there is something you think you want to do, my advice is to go for it.  If you want to be a combat controller now, go give it a shot.  Take advantage of all of the energy you have for life, and all the extra time you may not even know you have, and do it.

You don't want the regret of not trying.  It may be your calling, but it may not be, and that's alright.  Are you giving up that much to try it?  What will you have to sacrifice in 20 years to give something on that level a shot?

Like I've said before, I have plenty of regrets.  I'm just now coming to terms with some of them, but I don't have as many as I could have because of what I have tried.  

Now I've stopped the bigger risks.  I've stopped the spur of the moment decisions like I used to do because I have a lot more responsibilities and a lot more to lose. 

I probably won't be in a rock band like I should have done in college.  Forming a band and playing live shows in bars doesn't jive with my life now, but would have been a blast back then because all I had was time to practice and play music.  I had the energy to stay up late and hang out with a lot of people that play music.  I couldn't get over the fear of looking like an idiot ( because in your twenties it all seems like a big deal) and I did nothing.

     Don't focus on getting it perfect, just take the chance

In my early twenties, my big worry about training to be a combat controller was, " what if I fail?"  What I should have asked is, " What if I don't try this". The fear of letting down people down in my family, especially my parents was strong, but now I wonder why.  What I should've been worried about was the possibility of letting the opportunity pass forever.

The truth was I was super interested in combat control, but everyone I knew ( including family) didn't have a clue what the job was all about.  I mean, nobody really understood how difficult the training was, or how high the washout rate was.

In reality, people probably just thought that I was joining the Air Force to do a job that I really wanted to do.  That was about it.  I don't think my parents understood what I was doing until my graduation.

I put all the pressure on my myself because I was so wrapped up in getting my life straight and worried that I would fail another thing in my early life.

If I would have washed out on day one of the selection course, I doubt anyone would even remember that small portion of my life.  I would have still served the remainder of my enlistment in the Air Force, like I did anyway.  

To many people, I'm still a guy that served 5 years in the Air Force.  If I would have washed, nobody really cares.

So, I say to anyone reading this post.  Don't put too much pressure to figure everything out, to know exactly what you want to do.  If you have the interest and opportunity to do great things when you're young and able, including special warfare, do it!

You won't know all the details about your future.  You won't even know if you'll like the things that you think that you like at the time.   The things you think matter now, probably won't even be in your thoughts 20 years from now.  

If you want to do it, there's no better time than now, and if things don't work out, there's plenty of time for something else.  The you 10 years from now will probably be glad that you gave it a shot.

No matter what your goals are, go do it.

Kevin