First, a paragraph for non-AF people (AF - move on to the next paragraph). The personnel team that works within the Air Force uses codes to keep track of what everyone is doing in the Air Force. So, a personnelist within the Air Force can look up an Air Force member's personnel sheet, look at the code, and say "Oh, you are currently serving as an instructor for missiles at this squadron at Vandenberg AFB." Additionally, the personnel team attaches other codes that tell them what career track you are on within the Air Force. Chris works with missiles, but he's been part of a larger super-structure (or "command") that deals with both space (our Air Force run satellites, for example) and missiles. (I say he has been because space and missiles are in the process of being separated into two different commands.) So, within space and missiles you have two career track codes that can be added to your personnel sheet, either space coded or nuke (otherwise known as missile) coded. These codes seem to be somewhat randomly assigned and once they are assigned seem to be pretty permanent.
For a long time Chris didn't have a space or a nuke code. (Non-AF people, this is common.) However, a couple of weeks ago he came home and said that he had found out he was space coded. This brought up a number of potential issues. This first being that if he remained space coded then being a missile instructor is not a good assignment for him, it's too far outside of his career track. Chris's squadron commander told Chris she would look into the situation and get back to him in about a week with some resolution.
A week and a half later, first VAFB had to deal with the whole part of the base is on fire thing, Chris met with his squadron commander and we learned the following. Chris is space coded, this isn't something that is changeable (even if he wanted to), and in the next couple of months he will go to another assignment within his current squadron teaching space students instead of missile students. So, we don't have to move to another base, which was my biggest fear the past couple of weeks. Chris doesn't have to change squadrons, which was my second biggest fear because there are some space jobs at this base I wouldn't want him to do. He just has to teach different students. That's the short term change of plans.
The long term change of plans is what makes us excited about the opportunity for Chris to go work in space. As anyone who has read my blog knows, missiles has not been kind to us until very recently. Long, stressful years spent in frigid conditions. We've made the best of it. If Chris had stayed in missiles we would continue to make the best of it because he would have more long and stressful years spent in the frigid North ahead of him. Space means a more relaxed work environment for Chris without so much high-stakes testing and performance. It also means better work locations. Space jobs are in California, Florida, Colorado, etc. (compared to North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming). Also, because space and missiles have, until very recently, been under one command, the change to space after being in missiles for five and a half years should not hurt his career within space.
So, we're excited about the change of plans, though I think there's a bittersweet lump in our feelings as well. Missiles and its people have been our environment, for better or worse, for over five years. We know this world, we know a lot of people within this world, and without being asked or even told (Chris discovered the code on his own because he's been checking for it since he knew he hadn't been coded yet), we're moving into a different environment. Chris has worked hard to build a good reputation within the missile community and we were hoping this would be the time when he could relax and enjoy the rewards of having done the work to build that reputation. In the short term he'll have to climb that hill again in space. But talking about the bittersweet feeling too much feels like whining when Chris has been given a free ticket out of such a stressful career.
So, to sum it all up, Chris is space coded, he'll teach different students and after that he'll probably move to a space job in a nice location. We're happy.
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