Education programs shape Airman's future

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Leland Hopson
  • USAFE Entertainment Director
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  As I waited for the man behind the desk to review my file, I looked at the name placard: William Berlin, Education counselor. This was my first visit to an education counselor since enlisting four years earlier. I wasn’t sure what counseling I was to receive, but it was part of the enrollment process to take college classes at Misawa Air Base, Japan. That was the fall of 1976. Looking back now, counseling was the smartest education policy I have ever seen.

I had been trying the “school thing” since a few months after I arrived at my first duty station, Castle Air Force Base, Calif. I had in-processed in the fall of 1972, got my job “legs” under me as a security policeman, and in the spring of 1973, had gone down to the local community college, and signed up for three classes -- no cost, except the books. I didn’t last two months before I dropped out. So much for my higher education experience. I hadn’t processed through a base education center or received any education briefs that I recall. In fact, I couldn’t have told you where the education center was.

At my next assignment, San Vito dei Normanni Air Station, Italy, I found out about the College Level Examination Program, and how you could augment your college credits by taking these tests. I took some of the tests simply because they were available. I also began taking whatever classes were compatible with my rotating shift schedule, but I still lacked direction.

In 1976, after attending a Marine Corps technical school for cross-training into computer programming, I found myself at Misawa AB. Education programs were advertised all over the place and were made very accessible, so I decided to continue the educational pursuits I had started in Italy. But it wasn’t that easy. I had to “fill the square” by getting a counseling appointment.

So there I sat, waiting on Bill Berlin to clear me to take classes. Mr. Berlin looked up from my education records and asked why I was going to school. I said, “To get a degree.” Duh! He said, “Why do you want a degree?” Because … well, I guess I really didn’t know; it was the thing to do.

Mr. Berlin said more students than not came in to sign up for classes without really knowing what it meant to them. They didn’t have direction, and they didn’t really have meaningful goals. I didn’t know where this was going, but I realized I wasn’t driving the train anymore. He asked me not to tell him about my educational interests; rather, I was to tell him where I wanted to be personally, in say five or 10 years. I gave him the “deer in the headlights” look. I hadn’t thought that far down the road.

The counselor told me that my education shouldn’t be an end in and of itself, but a means to achieving life goals. Without goals, education is wasted. Over the course of the next few months, Mr. Berlin and other counselors helped me define those life goals: yes, I wanted to complete my bachelor’s degree, but it was because it was a means to qualifying for a commission.

That session in 1976 started my long and fruitful relationship with base education centers and their many programs. I completed two associate degrees along the way to my bachelor’s in 1981. These degrees allowed me to teach community college and earn a supplemental income.

I started my master’s while assigned to the Pentagon as a technical sergeant, and continued it with the help of the base education center here at Ramstein AB, Germany, after I received my commission and first assignment as an officer. I went on to finish my master’s degree in 1990 while assigned at Langley AFB, Va.; a degree that benefits my military duties.

I am proud to say I will leave Ramstein AB for the second time this summer as a colonel-select, a Community College of the Air Force degree holder, a graduate of University of Maryland Tokyo campus and a graduate of Troy State University Heidelberg campus -- a product of base education centers in three theaters -- all having the same focus of helping me achieve my life goals.

Now, your education goals are more attainable than ever. U.S. Air Forces in Europe's Combat Education program exists to remove barriers that hinder your educational pursuits. Through innovations such as flexible class scheduling, convenient classroom locations, and education counselors, you can achieve your educational goals even with increased operations tempo and mission requirements.

Where do you want to be personally in five years? In 10? Visit your base education center today and let them help you start shaping your future.