A lot of friends have asked me what life has been like for me since I joined the Air Force.
In this video, I am going to share with you my story about my journey before the military
and during the military. The goal of my YouTube channel is to help you be as informed and
prepared as possible by sharing my personal experiences and lessons learned. So, if you
are thinking about joining the military and want to learn how to prepare be sure to subscribe
to my YouTube channel, hit the notification bell, and comment below what you would like
me to make a video on. Now that you know what my YouTube channel is about let me share my
quick story with you.
Official disclaimer, this channel is all about my personal experiences in the U.S. military
and does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Department
of Defense or the U.S. Air Force. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily
state or reflect those of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Air Force and does not
intend to bring discredit upon the Department of Defense or the U.S. Air Force and is meant
to help others become more informed on joining the military.
I’m Jon Cruz, I’m 27 years old and I enlisted into the United States Air Force when I was
18 years old in high school. I have currently served 8.5 years in the military and plan
to commission into the Reserves or Guard when I finish my first-enlistment at my 10-year
mark. I have experienced so much in such a short amount of time and owe it all to the
Air Force. I’ve traveled all over the world and have been stationed overseas my whole
career, from Italy, to Turkey, and Germany. I’ve got to attend a lot of really cool
courses, meet amazing life-long friends all over the world, and meet my beautiful Austrian
wife while stationed overseas. The military has covered all of my tuition costs for my
Associates Degree, my Bachelor’s Degree, and now my Master’s Degree.
Let me just say, the Air Force has been a blessing and joining has been one of the best
decisions I have ever made and I do not regret it. The military overall has changed me as
a person completely and help me become a better leader, team player, and communicator. Growing
up in high school I had no direction, no plans on going to college, and no idea what the
hell I wanted to do with my life.
Growing up I was always fascinated by war movies and guns. Black Hawk Down, was my favorite
movie as a kid and is what truly inspired me to join the military. After I watched this
movie, I was determined to become a part of something bigger than myself. I volunteered
to enlist in 2011 and entered the Air Force delayed entry program for one year before
I went to Basic Military Training. While I was in the delayed entry program, I met some
of the coolest friends who also wanted to join the Air Force and be a part of something
bigger than themselves. While in the delayed entry program, I led my fellow colleagues
as the DEP Commander and helped ensure everyone was physically prepared for BMT.
In the delayed entry program, we met once a month for PT, recruiting events, and for
any administrative paperwork or updates. The reason I was in the DEP so long was because
I was waiting for a Basic Military Training class date and a Security Forces job slot.
I was told by my recruiter that every year there are only a certain amount of job slots
and Basic Military Training class dates that can be filled. Thus, began my first experience
playing the waiting game.
I finally went to Basic Military Training on June 14th, 2011, and was assigned to the
322nd Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base. During my 8.5 weeks of hell, I served
as the first element leader and helped my team mates throughout Basic Military Training.
So Basic Military Training was no walk in the park so for those of you who are attending
soon be sure you are physically and mentally prepared as much as possible. I graduated
from Basic Military Training on August 12th, 2011 then started my 13 weeks of Security
Forces technical training at Lackland Air Force Base.
During Security Forces tech school, you learn all of the basics about the Security Forces
career field so that you are prepared for the operational Air Force when you arrive at your
first duty station. I will go more in depth on Basic Military Training and Security Forces
tech school in the future but just know for now that Security Forces tech school, in some
instances, was more physically and mentally demanding than Basic Military Training. Throughout
Security Forces tech school, you will go through several phases as a class and over time you
are granted more liberties and freedom to go off base but of course with certain limitations.
Security Forces tech school as a whole was very fun but also had its days where you were
gut checked. Every day you were reminded that you need to earn your place if you want to
be in this career field and that you quickly learned how to embrace the suck. And for those
of ya’ll that are going to be joining the military, you will soon know what that means.
Overall, if I could give you one piece of advice start networking while you are in Basic
Military Training and in Tech School and make the most out of every situation. If you can
do these two simple things you will be successful. To this day, I still talk to my buddies from
Basic Military Training and Tech School and have forged some of the strongest relationships
because of the stressful situations we embraced together.
During the last few weeks of Security Forces tech school I received my PCS orders to Aviano
Air Base in Italy. I was so excited to go overseas because I had never been anywhere
outside of the United States before. For those of you who receive overseas assignments in
Tech School do not trade your assignment for a state side base unless you really do not
want to experience life overseas. Getting an assignment overseas is like winning the
lottery in the military. Only a handful of us received assignments overseas and many
unfortunate ones received orders to Minot or other stateside bases and were stuck there
for almost their whole career. SO, if you do get an assignment overseas do as much research
as you can on the area prior to you getting there and prepare to travel!
If you do receive PCS orders that you are unhappy with there is also a slight chance
you will be able to trade your assignment with your fellow classmates. Do your research though,
because I went through Tech School in 2011 and this policy could have changed by now
but at the time I went through many of my class mates were trading assignments with
each other.
So, I arrived at my first duty station on December 21st, 2011 and got to experience
my first Christmas alone without my family. I am not going to fucking lie to you or sugar
coat it but it was fucking hard for me being overseas away from my family for the very
first time. One of the positive things though about the military is that it forces you to
be able to make friends wherever you go and allows you to learn how to quickly adapt to
new environments. My 3.5-year tour in Italy was one of the best times in the military and
is the assignment where I matured the most in such a short amount of time. Looking back
at my days as a young A1C I made a lot of stupid choices and I am a bit embarrassed
with the person I was at the time and some of the people I was hanging around. Nevertheless,
I met a lot of good friends who I now call family, at this assignment and traveled all
throughout Europe and got to experience the party life.
Back home I grew up in a very strict household and never partied or did anything crazy until
I got to Italy. Some of the best memories of my life were made in Italy with my friends
I got to travel and explore the world with. During my first year in Italy, I started out
on flight as a Security Response Team Member and learned about the Force Protection world.
Depending on the mission of the base you go to will really dictate your role and mission
when you arrive at your unit.
So the following year, I was selected to work in the Armory as a young A1C and learned even
more in this new position. During my time as an Armorer, I was awarded Senior Airman
Below the Zone and was given a whole new role of responsibilities and was forced to grow
as a leader and individual. For those who are brand new to the military, there are several
jobs you can apply for in your specific career field at your unit so be sure to keep your
mind open as to what jobs become available at your first assignment because it can greatly
enhance your career and your scope of experience.
So, during my last year in Italy, I met my wife from Austria and received orders to Incirlik
Air Base Turkey. At the age of 22, I got married and became a whole new person. It is actually
quite funny because I always questioned why people got married so young in the military
and got to experience first-hand why? In the military, you are constantly moving, going
TDY to schools, and challenged to grow as an individual and person in new environments.
So, in the military, you have limited control over where you will go and often timing is
not always perfect. Sometimes you are just forced to jump into the unplanned, adapt,
and grow. My mindset, work performance, and outlook on life had grown in such a short
amount of time and to this day I am still shocked with how much I have changed as a
person. I think that one of the greatest things about joining the military at a young age
is the adventure it gives to you and the constant development you go through personally and
professionally.
The military forces you to grow even if you are not ready or want to grow. I remember
I joined the military to avoid going to school but quite ironically the military strongly
encourages you to continue learning and continue your education. Thankfully, I had a great
supervisor that got me on track to start my Associates Degree which jumpstarted my hidden
excitement for learning new things. While at first, I fucking hated studying on my days
off and doing homework it ended up paying off in the long run. So be sure to take advantage
of the educational benefits the military has to offer. While formal education is still
not for everyone and is not necessarily needed to be successful just be sure to never stop
expanding your skill sets and knowledge while you are in the military.
On December 10th, 2014 my wife and I PCS’d to Incirlik Air Base Turkey. This whole new
tour and environment challenged us both mentally, emotionally, and physically. This assignment
forced us to adapt and grow even more and step up my leadership skills. When we arrived
on station, we were able to travel for a very short duration, maybe a couple months, before
the base was placed on lockdown. At this assignment I started out on flight as a Security Response
Team Leader then shortly later became the Area Supervisor. As the Area Supervisor this
was my first real experience leading other Airmen as a young Senior Airman. Shortly after,
I was promoted to Staff Sergeant and was hired to work in Supply as the Unit Deployment Manager.
This new role expanded my experience in back-office and helped me hone my leadership, communication,
and management skills.
This job was a lot more stressful than all of my previous jobs because of the high level
of planning, organizing, and knowledge that was required on several programs and the high
expectation that was expected of you to be proficient on all programs and procedures.
Nevertheless, I pushed through, grew and put forth the best work possible. While we were
stationed at Incirlik we were hit with the ordered departure of all dependents and noncombatant
personnel. Within one weekend all families had been evacuated to a safe location and
thus began a new challenge to overcome. During this time, our relationships as a unit and
team grew even stronger and I truly got to experience how it felt to be part of a brotherhood
and what it felt like to have brothers and sisters around you that would have your six
and that you would gladly give your life for. This is what I joined the military to experience
and I don’t think any other organization in the world asides from First Responders
will ever get to experience. It is truly a remarkable feeling to be a part of a brotherhood
and have an unspeakable bond that nothing can compare to.
On August 26th, 2016 I PCS’d to Germany and was reunited with my wife. I still remember
how it felt like when we touched down back to a normal society and I remember how it felt to be
finally free and able to travel again. This assignment has truly been one of my best times
ever and is a hidden gem by our career field. Because I am still actively serving here I
am not gonna share my current location but in the future, I plan to reveal it. I have
been able to accomplish so much at my current duty station because of the difference in
our mission compared to my last assignment. At my current duty station, I was able to
complete my Associates Degree, my Bachelor’s Degree and start my Master’s Degree.
I’ve been able to launch two online businesses, which I will make future videos on how to
do while you are in the military, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, and I have also
been able to start this YouTube channel to document my experiences to help others.
When I first arrived at my unit, I started out on flight as a Patrolman and Desk Sergeant.
Shortly after, I got promoted to Technical Sergeant and now serve as the Assistant Flight
Chief.
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to meet amazing international friends and have
gotten to attend international courses and learn from several different nations and cultures.
I’m not telling you all this to brag or to toot my own horn but instead to share with
you the possibilities that you have while serving in the military. Many people think
that just because you are in the military you won’t have any free time or a normal
life but on the contrary I think you actually have more free time, in some instances, as
long as you know how to manage your time correctly. ¬¬¬¬¬
So if you are going to join the military don’t stop working on your personal or professional
goals just because you feel like you are too busy to. If it is important to you then you
will make time for it regardless of the environment you have to work in. My challenge to you is
to make a list of goals you want to accomplish. Make sure your goals are very specific, measurable,
attainable, realistic, and time based. In the military, we call this goal setting objective
a SMART goal. The day you stop learning and moving forward is the day that you stop growing.
One of my favorite quotes in relation to goal setting is to “shoot for the moon because
even if you miss you will land amongst the stars.”
So some of my current goals and future goals that I am working on is to finish my Master’s
Degree before I complete my enlistment, commission as an officer into the Air Force Guard or
Reserve, scale my online businesses ten-fold, and to increase my investments portfolio by
the age of 30. I also plan to continue advancing my knowledge in videography, marketing, editing,
public speaking, business management and leadership.
So now that I’ve shared my Air Force story of 8.5 years with you what do you want your
story to look like? If you are thinking about joining the military and want to learn how
to prepare, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, hit the notification bell on the
bottom, and comment below what you would like me to make a video on. Thank you for watching
and if you have any further questions, please let me know!