Basic and Technical Training - 1985

Technical School Class Picture

Basic Training Graduation Picture

I joined the Air Force in Dec 1984, went to Basic Training (Lackland AFB, TX) March 1985, and completed my Technical School (Chanute AFB, IL) by July 1985.

When I went to Basic, it was the first time I had ever flown or been away from home on my own. I was scared at first, even cried for a fraction of a second, and then realized I was free and independent and I liked it.

Back in the 80's, I had to smoke to get a break, wait in line once a week to use one of four pay phones, and was degraded every moment the technical trainer had an inkling. Now a days, I've heard you can bring in a cell phone and are given time to make personal calls each day, its a smoke-free environment, and the trainers are not allowed to degrade in any manner.

My technical training was fun because my class was composed of 4 guys and 4 girls and we were all 18 or 19 yrs old. We were swing shift and we had lots of fun goofing off after class. A group of us once got caught by the military police smooching near a static display located near an unused flight line. Apparently it was still considered off-limits even though there were no live aircraft on the base. I don't think I slept for four months I was so busy marching, studying, and goofing around. Hee hee.

I got my first tattoo during technical school. Everyone was getting them. I didn't feel I could afford one so I didn't think anything of it, until my roommate (Mary Beth from Oklahoma) said she'd pay for it if I found something I liked. She already had three and was going for her fourth. I decided to check it out and wound up with a tattoo on my ankle. The artist looked like he was a biker who just got out of prison, but he was nice. Back then I didn't even pay attention if the needle was clean or not, scary don't you think? I guess I would have known by now if I caught something, with all the testing the military does on us these days.