Thirty-seven Airmen and two Sailors recently graduated from Tinker’s Airman Leadership School.
Graduates are:
134th Civil Engineer Squadron
Senior Airman Cory Barton, Leadership Award
149th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Senior Airman Victor Moreno
507th Civil Engineering Squadron
Senior Airman Rodrick Brown
507th Security Forces Squadron
Senior Airman Michael Hoover
552nd Air Control Networks Squadron
Staff Sgt. James Fenno
Senior Airman Devin Barnes
552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Senior Airman John Halstead
Senior Airman Alexander Sparks
Senior Airman Leslie Schonfarber
Senior Airman Morgan Severeid, Freedom Citation Winner
Senior Airman Joseph Fitchett
552nd Maintenance Group
Senior Airman Zachary Stolze
552nd Maintenance Squadron
Senior Airman Roberto Coronado
Senior Airman David Mannel
Senior Airman Justin Stover
Senior Airman Austin Carolin
Senior Airman Demetria Mulligan
Senior Airman Dominique Sanchez
552nd Operations Support Squadron
Senior Airman Azelia Robinson
72nd Comptroller Squadron
Senior Airman Pamela Yim
72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron
Senior Airman Chaelon Moultry
Senior Airman Andrew Beaver
72nd Medical Support Squadron
Senior Airman Brent Goddu
72nd Security Forces Squadron
Senior Airman Blake Booth
Senior Airman Corey Hall
Senior Airman Justin Smith
Senior Airman Brandon Ogden Jr.
Senior Airman Jordan Tyndell
960th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Deandre Ordonez
963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Shayan Khan, Distinguished Graduate
Senior Airman Darren Massey
964th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Joshua Pavlik
Senior Airman Abby Washington, Academic Achievement Award, Distinguished Graduate and Sharp Image
965th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Keith Landauer,
John L. Levitow Award
966th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Jaron Long
Senior Airman Jason Whelan
Air Force Sustainment Center
Senior Airman Thomas Estrada
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron THREE
Petty Officer 3rd Class Tou Hue Yang
Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeremiah Curtis,
Distinguished Graduate
Freedom Citation
Senior Airman Morgan Severeid
552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
At 18, freedom couldn’t come fast enough. Once I graduated high school, I saved up my paychecks and when I had enough for a deposit, I moved into my own apartment. Out from under the roof of strict parents, I built myself a small life.
Between my full-time factory job and two part-time service jobs, I studied education at the local branch of Indiana University. I realized quickly, despite my passion for helping others, teaching was not in the cards for me.
I felt suddenly trapped. I was trudging at a snail’s pace toward a degree that I no longer wanted to pursue, working three jobs, and yet, still feeling unable to get ahead in life. None of them were something I wanted to turn into a career, and paying for an apartment by myself made it hard to save much after my bills. I was hardly sleeping, clocking close to 75 hours a week, feeling like I was going nowhere. At 19, I was at a crossroads; freedom felt out of reach.
About a year after I graduated, I felt myself running out of steam. I dropped by a friend’s house for a brief visit between work and class, and I was talking to her father about how run-down I felt when he suggested that I look into the military. He had served four years in the Air Force in the mid ’90s as a medic and loved it. He told me about the benefits: health care, education, a steady paycheck and a place to live. He told me about some of the people I would meet and the places I could potentially travel. Walking into the recruiter’s office the following Tuesday, I was already sold on the idea. I wanted to leave Indiana and this was the perfect way to do it. Seven months later, I was on my first commercial flight to San Antonio, Texas. Five months later, having completed basic military training, as well as technical training for Aircraft Hydraulic Systems, I was driving through the gates of Tinker Air Force Base with a Jeep full of everything I could carry from my first apartment. I had a new job, a new home and endless education opportunities, plus the potential to start a whole new life. At 20, things were looking up. Freedom felt like a six-year contract.
Four years, two deployments, a line number for E5 and a thousand memories later, the freedom that I longed for at 18 has taken on a completely different meaning. Everyone in a service uniform has their own unique set of reasons for waking up and putting it on every morning, and while mine were not all noble in the beginning, serving in the world’s greatest Air Force has given me a sense of pride that far surpasses anything I’d ever felt in the civilian world before I joined. Being a maintainer, a Wingman and most importantly an Airman has been an adventure, and I plan on holding on to the skills and values that have been instilled in me for the rest of my life.
At 23, freedom feels like the potential to do more. Whether I retire after 20-something years or decide not to re-enlist in 2020 when my contract is up, there is no doubt in my mind that the Air Force, my decision to join and the people, experiences and opportunities I’ve encountered along the way have been the most rewarding, especially during a time in my life where everything felt so incredibly up in the air. To me, now and always, freedom means the opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and initiative. And that is, my friends, by definition, the American Dream.