Sorry So Long!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since our last posting. I guess we forgot about writing for a while!

As you can imagine, a lot has happened since our last post so we'll just stick to the most recent news. As many of you probably know, we welcomed a new member to our family in May...our dog Moose! He has been great so far and we enjoy watching him grow and learn, even though he can be a hassle at times. We have started him on some puppy training and he already knows a few commands.

Jenna has been working hard at her job on base. She made it through the grueling ORI (operational readiness inspection) earlier this spring. She worked long days, but is glad it is over. Other than that, not too much is different for her. She is currently working on her masters degree in environmental policy from American Military University.

Kalen started Initial Airborne Weapons Officer Qualification Training in early May. He will be finishing up that course in the beginning of July before starting his flying training. He is enjoying it so far, but is looking forward to finally being done with training. Kalen plans on starting his masters degree later this year in Emergency and Disaster Management or Homeland Security.

We'll try to keep this post short and sweet. Please send us an email (kstoddard5@gmail.com or jstoddard5@gmail.com) or give us a call if you'd like to catch up. God bless!

Fall Update

Wow! It has been a long time since one of us has made a post, so I will try to catch everyone up on the last couple of months!

First off, Kalen and I had a great weekend in Biloxi! We were able to do some shopping, lots of eating and even spent some money trying to win big at one of the casinos! Neither of us had ever been to Biloxi, and both really enjoyed a long weekend together!

Right after Biloxi, I began my 14 week AMOC course in Wichita Falls, Texas. Unfortunately, northern Texas has not grown on me but I have been learning a lot in school and have been taking frequent trips up to the house in Oklahoma City! Currently I am over halfway done with my class, I have already taken 4 tests! I have been, as Kalen said, learning the “ins and outs” of aircraft maintenance, lots about engines, computer systems, flight control surfaces, hydraulics (yes, I know what that is, even what pneudraulics is!) and various different airframes! The course has also given me a lot of hands-on experiences, such as getting to climb into F-15 and F-16 intakes, exploring B-52s and C-130s, even playing with the different parts of an F-100 engine (suck, squeeze, bang, blow!).

Kalen has also been working hard at school in Florida! He recently tested out of the longest block of the course (getting a 98%) and has been doing great at controlling! In early December, his class will be having their assignment night! At this ceremony, he will be given his base assignment (Tinker AFB!), a call-sign/nickname and of course a great opportunity to do some partying! A couple of weeks ago, Paula and Craig visited Kalen for about two weeks! They had a blast doing lots of fishing and relaxing on the beach! Today, Kalen and a few classmates went to Jacksonville to hold a large American Flag at the Jaguars game (we’ll put some pictures up eventually)!

The two of us are getting very excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas, they seem to be getting closer and closer!! We will be spending Thanksgiving in Florida and Kalen will be coming up to OKC for two weeks during Christmas!! After Christmas, we will begin counting down the days until Kalen’s graduation from his ABM school! Right after graduation he will be in Washington State for a survival school (there will be more to come about this!) and then moving to OKC in March! We can’t wait!

Finally, the two of us are extremely excited to welcome a new Stoddard to the family next spring! We will be getting a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy in March or April! We are very excited to get moved in and the house all settled, and get the puppy…and of course finally get to see each other everyday!

Jenna

August News

Hi everyone,

Its been a while since our last post, so I'll update you on what's been happening...

Jenna is busy in Oklahoma working at her squadron. She will be going to Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course (AMOC) at Shepard AFB next week. AMOC is a 3 month long course where maintenance officers learn the ins and outs of supervision and aircraft maintenance. Maintenance workers in the Air Force are some of the hardest working and best people in the Air Force. They also have a reputation for getting into trouble sometimes so I am sure Jenna will have a lot on her plate when she gets back to Oklahoma. Jenna has been busy decorating the house, and making frequent trips to Panera Bread!

I have been busy with training in Florida and am entering the "tactical control" part of my training. Tactical control involves learning MU-2, F-15, and F-22 tactics. Next week I will be getting my second flight on an MU-2 (small twin engine prop). We learn to control MU-2s first since they are slower - we call them Decafs! We will have our first live control mission the following week where we will control 2 vs 2 Decaf flights. I am enjoying the training so far and learning a lot. I have a whole new respect for fighter pilots after going through some of our lessons!

I have also been ffinding time to enjoy my new hobby - surf fishing! I found a nice fishing spot a couple miles outside of mexico beach called Crooked Island. I have caught many different kinds of fish including Ladyfish, Catfish, Whiting, Bluefish, Sand Sharks, and even a stingray! I managed to catch 4 nice keepers (Bluefish and Whiting) this weekend, and should be able to have 3 or 4 nice fish dinners! My next goal is to catch a Florida Pompano, which are supposed to be the best tasting fish in Florida. I will keep you posted on my fishing adventures in the future!

Jenna and I are meeting at Keesler AFB next weekend before she goes to AMOC. It will be nice to spend some time together for a few days!

That's all for now, hope everyone is enjoying the last part of summer!

OKC House Pictures

Living room...The paint does not look the best, but that is because of the flash on the camera.

Dinning room, with new table and wedding pictures. And new curtains I just put up!

Kalen, when he can up for my graduation from ASBC.

Oklahoma City

A lot has happened since our last post... I have moved to Oklahoma City to Tinker AFB, and Kalen has moved into his next phase of training!

First, on the 20th of July I arrived to Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, OK. Right away I was able to get an on-base house and have embodied the phrase “hit-the-ground-running” perfectly! I am assigned to the Maintenance Group for the AWACS, I have been attending many meetings a day, and learning about the planes as well as doing a lot of classes while I in-process to the base! So far I have really enjoyed the fast-paced job, hundreds of people also working in the group….and even the long, long hours!

Next, I have been working on getting moved into the new house. It is pretty bare, being my household goods are still somewhere between Superior and OKC… But I have been able to get the essentials, including a bed, table, 32” LCD TV and a weather radio! (I was even able to get some great deals on the furniture after a local store had its roof blown off in a storm!) Last weekend I took advantage of the lack of furniture and painted the living room/dinning room area! Even the local JC Penny welcomed me to the area with a window sale, so I was able to get some great deals on curtains! If you would like a better idea of what the house looks like, I would suggest watching the movie “We Were Soldiers” (a Vietnam War movie) the housing shown in the movie was build around the same time as our house…very similar…

Last Saturday, Kalen got another new car for us! A very pretty, red, 2010 Subaru Forester! Although I was sad to see our second old jeep go…Kalen was very happy to receive $4,500 for getting a vehicle with better fuel economy! (My tolerance for the current administration and Congress has been pretty high this week! Thanks guys!) By this time, the jeep has probably been crushed. Again, we needed to replace it and Kalen has already grown very fond of the new Subaru! When he moves up to OKC, it will be a struggle over which vehicle will get the garage! His Forester, or my Impreza!

Again, it has been very busy few weeks for us. Kalen has moved into his next phase of training to become an Air Battle Manager! He has already excelled at the numerous early-morning mission simulations he does for training a couple times a week! Working with the AWACS in OKC, I have even learned more about his training! We usually dedicate 10-15 minutes of our nightly phone conversations to talking about AWACS Mission! (Also known as “America’s Mission”)

This weekend the two of us are getting some R&R and preparing for the next week! I will be very busy with work, probably pulling 12 hour shifts the next two weeks (possibly even some night shifts!) and Kalen will be back to class and training simulations next week! I have already started my weekend with 12 hours of sleep, and Kalen is on his way to the golf course!

Hopefully we will get another post up in a couple of days and a picture of the new car…no promises though, our weeks are flying by!!

Jenna

Fourth of July

We hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! We both spent our Fourth in Mexico Beach, enjoying the beach and the local festivities!

Since we last wrote, Kalen has finished his academic block of Air Battle Manager training, this was the first big section of his training. While waiting for his second block of training to begin, Kalen has been spending a lot of time golfing and working out as well as expanding his horizons on YouTube...oh, and doing a little work at his training squadron! The last weekend in June Kalen was able to take a day of leave and head up to Montgomery, Alabama to visit Jenna at ASBC. Again, he was able to work on his golf swing while Jenna was in class! He will begin his next block of training on July 20th, he will be learning how to direct fighter aircraft! This will hopefully include a ride on a F-15 Eagle (fighter airplane)!

Jenna is still at ASBC (Air and Space Basic Course) at the Air University in Montgomery, Alabama. She spent her first week in the field, at a facility that simulates a deployed environment. Even getting issued a M-4 (weapon)! However, the last few weeks have been spent in class at the college learning about theory, doctrine, operations and strategy of the Air Force. She only has two more weeks, one including a large test and another in the field.

After ASBC, Jenna will be heading up to Oklahoma City to begin work in the 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron. This squadron supports the AWACS, the planes Kalen will soon be flying on! Jenna will spend 6 weeks in Oklahoma before heading to Wichita Falls, Texas for more school!

Again, we hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!!

Kalen & Jenna

E-3 Sentry AWACS

Recent News

Not much new to report since the last posting.  I am still enjoying my training and will be finishing up the "console familiarization" portion of the course tomorrow.  It is difficult but we still find time to have fun too.

Mom and Dad and Jenna were here visiting last weekend.  It was nice to have everyone here at once.  We did a lot of beach combing, and even saw someone catch a shark off the pier!  We also had some great food, and enjoyed a tour of the base and the 325th Air Control Squadron.

Jenna is finally in Alabama, and should be receiving her first paycheck shortly!  She spent most of last week sleeping in a tent for some psuedo-deployment training.  So far she is having a lot of fun there, and the best part is that we can see each other on the weekends!  

It has been very hot here lately and might even get to 100 degrees this week.  I don't enjoy the heat and humidity here much, but it sure beats 30 below zero!  Hope everyone is doing well, check back in a couple weeks for more!