You Know You're An Air Force Brat When......

Just a little something fun for my siblings....in honor of our parents on Veterans Day.


You know you're an Air Force brat when.............


...the most complicated question someone can ask you is, "Where are you from?"  (The answer for me, after a long pause,  is always "All over" after having lived in Virginia, France, South Carolina, Ohio, Washington, Taiwan, Oklahoma and Texas)


...you and your siblings were all born in different states or countries.


...you went to the airstrip after church every Sunday to watch the planes.


...you get annoyed when a jet flies over and some "civilian" misidentifies it.  You know that the Thunderbirds fly F-16s and the Blue Angels fly F/A 18 Hornets.


...you don't even flinch at the sound of jets breaking the sound barrier a few times a day and you are used to the sound of the dishes  clanking in the cabinet when it happens.


...you always wonder if it's thunder or the guns at Fort Lewis making that noise.


...your dad has a USAF Thunderbirds calendar on the wall of his office and you have been to more air shows than you care to count.


...you can't sleep unless you can hear the airplanes.  Living in the "final approach" path of any airport is an amenity you seek out instead of avoiding.


...your senior-citizen dad wears some sort of flag shirt for every Patriotic holiday.


...you know what TDY and MAAG and OSI mean and you try to give everything in your life an acronym.


...you remember how big of a deal it was to turn 10 and get your military ID card.


...all of your food came from the commissary and your clothes from the PX.


...your family could pack a house and move in no time at all.


...you are amazed when you hear that some people live in the same town and even in the same house their entire lives.


...you remember each school you attended by the base you lived on and you attended more than 8 schools in 12 years.


...you were used to every house on your street being exactly the same except for the color.  


...you remember when they played the National Anthem before the movies in the theaters on the base and you stood up for it.


...you consider base housing the ultimate in gated communities.


...your free weekends were spent flying "Space Available" on military planes to places like Tokyo and Thailand and The Philippines.


...you've lived in a house where it was common to have gecko lizards on the wall.


...you've flown overseas in a cargo plane with airmen in flight suits as your only flight attendants.


...your siblings are your best friends because they are the only ones you take with you when you pack up and move every two years.


...you lived in a hotel while waiting for base housing to become available.


...you answer your house phone with your version of, "Logan residence, Leanne speaking" and you always said, "Yes Sir and No Sir."


...you learned military time before you learned regular time.

 ...you had to get a new set of shots every time you moved to a new exotic location.


...you never knew the first names of any of your parents' friends....it was always, Major and Mrs. So-and-so, or Colonel and Mrs. So-and-So.


...you swelled with pride every morning watching your dad leave the house in his uniform, usually in a warm shirt that you helped to iron for him.


...your dad came home every night just after his office closed at  1700.  Dinner was at 1730 and you ate together at the table every night with the family.


Finally, a tribute to honor all of the military brats out there.  I couldn't have said it any better...


I Am A Military Brat

My hometown is nowhere, my friends are everywhere.
I grew up with the knowledge that home is where the heart is and the family....

Mobility is my way of life.Some would wonder about roots, yet they are as deep and strong as the mighty oak. I sink them quickly, absorbing all an area offers and hopefully, giving enrichment in return.

Travel has taught me to be open.Shaking hands with the universe, I find brotherhood in all men.Farewells are never easy.Yet, even in sorrow comes strength and ability to face tomorrow with anticipation....if when we leave one place,I feel that half my world is left behind. I also know that the other half is waiting to be met.

Friendships are formed in hours and kept for decades.I will never grow up with someone, but I will mature with many.Be it inevitable that paths part, there is constant hope that they will meet again.

Love of country, respect and pride fill my being when Old Glory passes in review.When I stand to honor that flag, so also do I stand in honor of all soldiers, and most especially, to the parents whose life created mine Because of this, I have shared in the rich heritage of Military life.

Anonymous