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!

Jenna Coming to Town!

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd check in and write a little something about what's been going on lately.  First of all, Jenna is coming to visit for a couple weeks here in Florida!  We are both very exciting to see one another again after being apart for about 2 months.  We plan on spending the long weekend doing some shopping and spending some time outdoors.

I just finished my third academic test today for Air Battle Management school.  The course is split up into 5 different blocks.  Right now we are in the academic block (Block 1) where we have 5 of our 8 tests for the 9 month course (one test each week for the first 5 weeks).  There is a lot of material to memorize, but so far the workload hasn't been more than I am used to.  Most of the time we only have classroom lessons until around noon and then they set us free for the rest of the day so we only end up at "work" for about 4 or 5 hours each day.  Thank you taxpayers!

Anyways, that's about all that has been going on lately.  I enjoy being in Florida, and the base is great.  We see F-15s, F-16s, and F-22s fly over everyday.  It is like having our own private airshow.  Hope everyone is doing well.  I will try to write again in a couple weeks!  

Kalen

Recent Events!

Hi everyone,

Since I last wrote I have been very busy.  First off, I graduated ASBC (Aerospace Basic Course) on April 17th and was awarded exceptional performer at the end of the course.  After that it was on the road to Florida.  I arrived here the same day and began the long process of getting settled in.  The first thing I needed to do was check in to my new job.  I am currently assigned to the 325th Air Control Squadron at Tyndall AFB, FL.  After completing a long checklist of inprocessing items, I finally started class this past Tuesday.  

Unfortunately I sliced my left middle finger while cutting a potato on Wednesday evening and received 6 stitches in my hand.  It was certainly an exciting evening!

I love my apartment in Mexico Beach - I walk down to the beach just about every day.  It is only about 3 blocks from the front door of my apartment to beach access!  I bought a few pieces of furniture for my apartment including a desk, couch, and bed.  I am enjoying my first venture into adulthood so far.

Recently I've been studying materials for class a lot and hanging out with my new classmates.  They all have interesting stories to tell and lots of neat experiences.  One was a navigator on an LC-130 ski plane that flew to Antarctica regularly!  I have learned a lot so far.   Just in case anyone is interested here is my new mailing address:

3706 Hwy 98 Unit 303

Mexico Beach, FL 32456 (32410 for UPS packages)

I would love to hear from you.  Give me a call, email me, or send me a letter anytime.  Hope everyone is enjoying the Spring weather!  

Cheers!

Kalen

Happy Easter!

Hello Everyone!

I know it has been a long time since my last post, but I've been very busy with ASBC and all that goes along with it.  I am currently preparing for my last exam this Tuesday, and I am anxiously awaiting our graduation this Friday morning.  It has been a long 6 weeks, but well worth it at the same time.

After ASBC, I'll be moving on to my next location which is Tyndall AFB.  A couple weeks ago Jenna and I went apartment hunting in the area.  We managed to find a wonderful apartment in Mexico Beach Florida.  It is only a couple blocks from the beach!  The town is very quiet and has a lot of small town charm with a relaxed beach atmosphere.  I am really looking forward to living so close to the beach and experiencing all that goes along with the beach atmosphere.

While in Montgomery, I've been enjoying some of the local eating establishments and even took in a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game.  I can't say that Montgomery is my favorite place in the world, but the base is very nice and I've met some great people.  I will try to have Jenna post some pictures along with this posting of my new apartment.  If any of you would like to visit, just give me a call - I have plenty of space!

I hope you all had a spectacular Easter and are enjoying the Spring weather.  I'll try to post again soon.

Kalen