I did something crazy today. Actually, I'm not sure if that's the word that most accurately reflects my feelings of the matter. Rather, I pulled the trigger on a decision that was two to three years in the making. Today, humbled, disheveled, and somewhat scraggly, I stood before a Navy lieutenant, raised my hand, and swore into the Idaho Army National Guard. Now hear me out for a second...
I had been longing to be in the military since I was a teenager. I even started the enlistment process with the Air Force earlier in my life while my father was still alive. However (obviously) for other reasons I did not continue with enlisting. Instead I went on to work as a firefighter in Fauquier County, VA. The thought [read: desire] never left me, however. After my father's death, I looked more to the Army if anything but never took the desire to be a part of the Army seriously. Now let's fast forward to 2015. By the summer of 2015, I was a five-year veteran of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Fire & Rescue Department. I was vested in my retirement with MWAA, vested in my frustration with living in the DC area as well as the east coast as a whole, and was jonesing to be living in Idaho closer to Maleigha. By 2016 my security clreance was being processed for a contract job in Afghanistan and I was seriously planning on moving to Idaho.
During one of my visits to Boise, I learned that an air ambulance detachment belonging to the 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion existed. I began doing research on army flight medics which is where I learned about the difference between a 68W (Combat Medic Specialist), a 68WF2 (Flight Paramedic), and a 68WF3 (Flight Medic [non-paramedic]. I continued toying with the idea all through resigning from MWAA, moving to Boise, working in Afghanistan, and up until leaving my position in Afghanistan.
In November of 2017, I visited a recruiter for the second time in my life. I walked into the National Guard recruiting office in the Boise Towne Square mall, expressed my desire to become a flight paramedic within the Idaho Army National Guard, and signed up to take the ASVAB. Around this time my recruiter set me up with a tour at Gowen field where I got to me the commander for the air ambulance detachment belonging to the 1-168th. Holy shit, did that day peak my excitement.
Over the winter, however, I wasn't gainfully employed which I wanted to square away prior to enlisting. I worked part-time at REI in order to get by which I absolutely hated. Don't listen to the smoke that REI or Outdoor Magazine blows up your ass; it's a miserable place to work. I started working as a wilderness medicine instructor for National Outdoor Leadership School. However, my classes were limited as I was being precepted being so new to the school. I applied for Boise Fire Department wanting to jump on the opportunity not knowing what would happen with enlisting within the guard so I held off on submitting my application into my recruiter until I had a better idea as to what would happen during Boise FD's hiring process. During this time I got picked up as a part-time fire fighter in the town of Donnelly, ID as well as a part-time Emergency Department Technician with Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Anyways, out of all of the written entry exams I've taken for fire department hiring processes, Boise Fire's was the most difficult with the highest cutoff point (92.8% I believe was this year's cut off point) I had ever experienced. I failed having only scored in the high 80s. Having been another dream of mine for nearly 10 years, I was pretty fucking depressed during the month of April until I realized that an opportunity loomed for me to get through basic combat training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) without having to juggle it and military leave as a probationary firefighter with a career department. So I finally submitted my national guard application in the beginning of this summer. Today was my Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) date. After a physical that lasted hours and some personal time with a military counselor, I made the decision to swear in and received information as to where and when I would ship off to BCT.
Thankfully, with a National Registry Paramedic (NRP) certification, I was able to enlist under the Civilian Acquired Skills Program as an E-4/Specialist. Also as a NRP, I get to skip phase one of 68W AIT which is a six-week National Registry EMT course. So for now, I ship off to Ft Sill, OK for BCT in late October. I can't believe I finally did it. I'm excited and absurdly nervous as well. I have a lot of hurdles to jump through before I can even come close to achieving my goal. But I at least took the first step. For now, I'm going to ride that elated feeling of pride. In the mean time, it's time to get ready for nearly three weeks of dusty insanity in the Black Rock Desert.
I had been longing to be in the military since I was a teenager. I even started the enlistment process with the Air Force earlier in my life while my father was still alive. However (obviously) for other reasons I did not continue with enlisting. Instead I went on to work as a firefighter in Fauquier County, VA. The thought [read: desire] never left me, however. After my father's death, I looked more to the Army if anything but never took the desire to be a part of the Army seriously. Now let's fast forward to 2015. By the summer of 2015, I was a five-year veteran of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Fire & Rescue Department. I was vested in my retirement with MWAA, vested in my frustration with living in the DC area as well as the east coast as a whole, and was jonesing to be living in Idaho closer to Maleigha. By 2016 my security clreance was being processed for a contract job in Afghanistan and I was seriously planning on moving to Idaho.
During one of my visits to Boise, I learned that an air ambulance detachment belonging to the 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion existed. I began doing research on army flight medics which is where I learned about the difference between a 68W (Combat Medic Specialist), a 68WF2 (Flight Paramedic), and a 68WF3 (Flight Medic [non-paramedic]. I continued toying with the idea all through resigning from MWAA, moving to Boise, working in Afghanistan, and up until leaving my position in Afghanistan.
In November of 2017, I visited a recruiter for the second time in my life. I walked into the National Guard recruiting office in the Boise Towne Square mall, expressed my desire to become a flight paramedic within the Idaho Army National Guard, and signed up to take the ASVAB. Around this time my recruiter set me up with a tour at Gowen field where I got to me the commander for the air ambulance detachment belonging to the 1-168th. Holy shit, did that day peak my excitement.
Over the winter, however, I wasn't gainfully employed which I wanted to square away prior to enlisting. I worked part-time at REI in order to get by which I absolutely hated. Don't listen to the smoke that REI or Outdoor Magazine blows up your ass; it's a miserable place to work. I started working as a wilderness medicine instructor for National Outdoor Leadership School. However, my classes were limited as I was being precepted being so new to the school. I applied for Boise Fire Department wanting to jump on the opportunity not knowing what would happen with enlisting within the guard so I held off on submitting my application into my recruiter until I had a better idea as to what would happen during Boise FD's hiring process. During this time I got picked up as a part-time fire fighter in the town of Donnelly, ID as well as a part-time Emergency Department Technician with Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Anyways, out of all of the written entry exams I've taken for fire department hiring processes, Boise Fire's was the most difficult with the highest cutoff point (92.8% I believe was this year's cut off point) I had ever experienced. I failed having only scored in the high 80s. Having been another dream of mine for nearly 10 years, I was pretty fucking depressed during the month of April until I realized that an opportunity loomed for me to get through basic combat training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) without having to juggle it and military leave as a probationary firefighter with a career department. So I finally submitted my national guard application in the beginning of this summer. Today was my Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) date. After a physical that lasted hours and some personal time with a military counselor, I made the decision to swear in and received information as to where and when I would ship off to BCT.
Thankfully, with a National Registry Paramedic (NRP) certification, I was able to enlist under the Civilian Acquired Skills Program as an E-4/Specialist. Also as a NRP, I get to skip phase one of 68W AIT which is a six-week National Registry EMT course. So for now, I ship off to Ft Sill, OK for BCT in late October. I can't believe I finally did it. I'm excited and absurdly nervous as well. I have a lot of hurdles to jump through before I can even come close to achieving my goal. But I at least took the first step. For now, I'm going to ride that elated feeling of pride. In the mean time, it's time to get ready for nearly three weeks of dusty insanity in the Black Rock Desert.
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