Keep Up!

We've got a lot going on recently ... but last night made my head spin!

Chris had applied for a new job (yes, he's been in his current job about two months, so this is the new-new job) a couple of weeks ago for the position of Chief of the 30th Space Wing's Commander's Action Group. Yesterday afternoon he had an interview with the Wing Commander, who would be his boss at the new job. It seemed like it went well, but Chris wasn't sure when he would hear if he got the job or not. Last night, right after dinner, Chris got a phone call from his current boss, telling him to go outside, he (Chris' current boss) was on his way over. So, Chris went outside and it wasn't just one of his bosses ... it was both of his current bosses (his squadron commander and director of operations of his current squadron (kinda like the president and vice president of the squadron for my non-AF friends). They had come in person to congratulate Chris ... he got the job!

I don't think I realized what a big deal this job was until they came inside to tell me too! So, non-AF people, the AF is made up structurally of flights that do the same mission with a squadron. Those squadrons all contribute to the larger mission of the wing. Sometimes there are a couple of wings at a base, if so, one of those wings is in charge and the commander of that wing is also in charge of the base. The 30th Space Wing is in charge of this base, so Chris' new boss is the Wing Commander and the Base Commander ... a very important person on this base. Chris was the assistant flight commander at his current job (working for a flight commander, who worked for a DO and a squadron commander, who work for group commander, who work for a wing commander) ... now he'll be working directly for the wing commander.

I should explain the actual job! So, here's my spouse interpretation ... The Wing Commander as two assistants. An "exec" who helps him do all his AF paperwork (there are always things that need to be filled out and signed) and scheduling. And a Chief of the CAG who does all the random tasks that don't fall under the "exec" job description. After listening to Chris describe the various tasks he'll do, I've decided that he'll be like Handy Mandy (a cartoon on Disney that David watches). He'll be the fix-it guy. His hours will be early to whenever the Wing Commander goes home or says "go home." It should actually be fun for Chris ... I think the thing Chris hates more than anything about any job is being bored ... and that's very unlikely at this job.

Chris' current job has been great and was looking to get better with time. Chris has been dealing with the education part of the AF since he got here, both at his last job and at his current job, something he's really passionate about. As Chief of the CAG he'll be dealing more with space and base issues. So, it's all a change, but it's an incredible opportunity ... not one to be passed up. If he does well working for the Wing Commander his next assignment should be really good ... having a good AF career seems to be about building on each job/assignment to propel you toward other good assignments (with more than a little luck thrown in there too).

Opportunity always come with a price. We're both going to have more work to do. Chris will have much longer and less reliable hours ... which means I'll have more of the at home burden on my shoulders. Chris' current DO asked me last night if I was ready for the hours Chris will now be working. I told him that after dealing with Chris pulling four day alerts and going on a deployment, I'm just glad for any job where Chris comes home every night. It's the way I feel. Though thinking about Chris working long hours makes me so glad to be able to be a stay at home mom ... so that I can keep a steady and stable routine for our boys.

Last night, sitting with Chris, talking about how incredible this opportunity is going to be for his career, all of a sudden I started thinking about all the people who told me to hang in there when the career went wrong almost exactly two years ago. Hang in there, it'll get better. Hang in there, the AF is not what is happening to him now. They were right and I'm so glad I listened to their advice.