Meet Your Military
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PHOTO: Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Forrest Jellison, a urologist, works with his surgery team during a penectomy, May 27, 2014, at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City, Belize. An Air Force surgical team deployed to Belize for two weeks during a New Horizons Belize 2014 surgical readiness training exercise. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kali L. Gradishar BELIZE CITY, Belize– Deployed in support of New Horizons Belize 2014, a multifaceted exercise providing training opportunities for Belizean and U.S. medical professionals, Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Forrest Jellison is finding ways to give back. "I've always wanted to give back in some way, because I know I'm fortunate for what I have," the urologist said. "I believe you have to give back to be able to have something worthwhile." Following a number of family members into the military, Jellison said, he considered enlisting before deciding on a career path that would take him to places he never anticipated going in uniform.
He graduation from Pacific Union College in Napa Valley, California, and followed his undergraduate education with medical school at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, where he also completed his residency. Jellison then completed a urology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was commissioned in 2001. After years of schooling, learning, teaching and traveling, Jellison deployed in support of New Horizons. Along with a urology and surgery team, he provided some life-saving surgeries with the assistance and coordination of the nation's sole urologist and other staff at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital here. "I'm very fortunate that this is part of my job," Jellison said. "This is something that I do and want to continue doing outside of where I'm tasked to go in the military."
Read more: Meet Your Military: Air Force Doctor Finds Ways to Give Back
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PHOTO: Air Force 2nd Lt. Kyle Wheeler once prepared weapons for F-15C Eagles as an air munitions maintenance operator. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Robert McIlrathSHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – An airman here is well on his way to fulfilling his dream of flying the same fighter jet he once turned wrenches on. After earning a commission and completing the initial stages of learning to fly, he is now ready to climb into the cockpit and fire the weapons he once loaded. Wheeler is a Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program graduate with the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. Air Force 2nd Lt. Kyle Wheeler, a Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program graduate from the 80th Flying Training Wing here, once prepared weapons as an Air Force enlisted air munitions maintenance operator on the F-15C Eagle. After earning a commission and completing the initial stages of learning to fly, he is now ready to climb into the cockpit and drop the weapons he once loaded. Wheeler said he always knew he wanted to be a pilot, but the question was when and how. "I was always really passionate about airplanes as a kid," he said. "Growing up, I enjoyed the airplane ride to Disney World when I was 8 years old more than I really enjoyed Disney World itself. I've always had a fascination with airplanes."
Read more: Meet Your Military: Former Enlisted Man Becomes Jet Pilot
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PHOTO: Marine Corps Pfc. Linard Addison Jr. checks to ensure the morning accountability report is correct at the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit command post, Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 22, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joshua W. Brown MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Marine Corps Pfc. Linard Addison Jr. said he was only 12 when his father died, and that his service is a way of fulfilling his late father’s expectations. “He told me I should strive to be the best, and that’s why I joined the Marine Corps,” he said. Addison -- who hails from Marion, South Carolina, and is an administrative specialist assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- said he knew even at a young age that he wanted to serve. “My dad was in the Army, so for a while, that’s what I thought I wanted to do,” he said. “But when I got into high school, I realized that the Marine Corps was the best.” Addison said he didn’t have a specific specialty in mind, but he knew he absolutely wanted to be a Marine.
“I was real close to my dad, and I wanted to make my family proud,” he added. Addison said his mother and his siblings -- four brothers and two sisters -- were happy about his decision. “I’m the middle child,” Addison said. “I want to set the example for my younger siblings.” His younger sister recently turned 18, he added, and would like to be a Marine after she finishes college. “I want to set the example by coming in and working hard, doing my best, and improving myself every day,” he said. Though he is one of the youngest and most junior Marines in the unit, his responsibilities and expectations are the same as every other Marine in his section. “He works hard, he seeks to learn more, and he’s improving quickly,” said Marine Corps Sgt. Michael K. Burns, Addison’s noncommissioned officer in charge. As a Marine recently out of military occupational school, Addison is still in the process of learning all the facets of his profession. Burns said he is doing well and is a squared-away Marine. “You can tell he’s hungry to learn more,” Burns said.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Marine Sets Example for Siblings
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PHOTO: Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Ray Lewis, a refueling boom operator assigned to the Air Force Reserve’s 18th Air Refueling Squadron, 931st Air Refueling Group, McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., has been serving in the Air Force for more than 24 years and recently passed 6,500 total flight hours and 1,500 missions flown. Courtesy photo by Jonathan Pece Air Force MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. – A reservist assigned here has reached a career milestone that was more than 24 years in the making. Senior Master Sgt. Ray Lewis, a refueling boom operator assigned to the Air Force Reserve’s 18th Air Refueling Squadron, 931st Air Refueling Group, recently passed 6,500 flying hours while at the same time tallying his 1,500th mission. Lewis said he sees the totals as less of a milestone and more of a reflection on the fact that he has been able to continue to fly regularly for his entire career. "I think I'm just lucky," he said. "I'm lucky in the sense that I've been able to stay in the Air Force for as long as I have and I've been able to continue to fly, serving as a reservist. I've been in the Air Force Reserve for more than 16 years of my career, and I get to fly roughly four hours a week, so it's really just been an accumulation of hours over the years." As a boom operator, Lewis' primary job is to control the KC-135 Stratotanker's refueling boom during air refueling operations.
He communicates and coordinates with the receiving aircraft's pilot to ensure the safe transfer of thousands of pounds of jet fuel, all while the two aircraft are less than 30 feet apart, traveling at 500 miles per hour, 30,000 feet above the ground. Though he has spent the equivalent of nine months in flight doing the job, Lewis said, it never gets old. "I still get excited each time I'm scheduled to go fly," he said. "It's been that way ever since the first time I did an air refueling mission, back when I was just a 19-year-old kid. I've always loved the job, always loved being in the airplane. Honestly, I like being in the airplane more than I like being at home. That may sound weird, but I'm just very, very comfortable in the airplane, and I love doing the job." That excitement of doing the job has been a hallmark of Lewis's career, dating back to that very first mission. "I was excited and terrified at the same time," he said with a laugh.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Reservist Reaches Air Refueling Milestone
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PHOTO: Air Force Staff Sgt. Maria Escobar, right, a military training instructor with the 737th Training Group, addresses a trainee during basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, May 20, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin FaskeARLINGTON, Va. – The Air Force basic military training instructor is vital to the development of making future airmen, and the Air National Guard plays a relevant role in that process. Escobar, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, volunteered for MTI duty to teach and mentor future airmen. Air National Guard members who apply and are accepted carry out a four-year assignment as an MTI before returning to their home units.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Maria Escobar is one of those Guard members. She left her human resources specialist job at the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, to begin her MTI tour at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, in 2010. Escobar said her own basic training experiences encouraged her to pursue her current path, which has taken her back to where it all began for her. “My military training instructor inspired me to become an MTI,” Escobar said. “She was a great leader and mentor and she exemplified what a true airman needed to be.” Escobar said her experiences of being on the 102nd Intelligence Wing honor guard, along with working in personnel, have had a positive effect on her MTI assignment.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Air National Guard Member Molds Future Airmen