Commentary by Tech. Sgt. Chad Thompson
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
6/1/2012 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- There are many things in life we can't change, the ones who we grow close to, the ones who bring meaning to what we do, the people who change us -- our true friends.
Many times throughout the course of my 14-year Air Force career I have felt I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I think I was mistaken by that. I think in fact I was in the exact place I needed to be. Whether I was there for someone, or someone else was there for me.
We are each given very small clues day in and day out of what we are meant to do. I am still not quite sure where I will be in 10 years or 20 years or even in about three years. I know where I would hope to be, but will that truly be where I will end up? Probably not.
My piece of advice is to make every moment count. No matter where you are or where you think you should be. If there is something in life that reaches out and touches your soul stop and take a breath and enjoy it because you never know when you might get the chance to experience it again.
It's funny how the simplest things in life can bring more meaning than anything and it's even funnier how these silly things come about sometimes. You wait and wonder and try and come up with some sort of solution for things and then one day it just hits you like a ton of bricks. Or maybe it just takes a moment of weakness to see it and realize it.
Nevertheless, always look to the stars and never stop hoping and dreaming. Enjoy Europe while you're here. Get out and explore. Soak in the culture, learn a bit of the language and get out of your comfort zone once in a while - you never know what or who you might find.
Comments
6/25/2012 9:13:06 AM ET I started my career in 1968 and felt fortunate to have been stationed at one overseas base for 13 years before returning to SJ then returned to England for another 4 years. During all that time I had a goal to learn all I could be a better mechanic and supervisor than those who mentored me and work for a Jet Engine company after I retired. I thought I achieved my goals when after I retired and got hired into that aircraft jet engine company but I did not figure in the end of the Cold war which brought down the Berlin Wall and made thousands in the Areospace Industry loose their jobs. I happend to be one of them. However I never lost hope that my goal would return. I took a highly dangerous job position as a State Prison Guard and stayed there for almost 4 years but quit without notice one day when I almost lost my life in a prison fight. Two weeks later I attended a job seminar where I regained my goal by meeting a representative of the jet engine manufacturer who read my resume and co
