Becoming An Airman
EPISODE 11
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WELCOME ANOTHER HARD HITTING EPISODE OF THE ONES READY PODCAST! ON THIS ONE the team SHARES THEIR EARLY AIR FORCE EXPERIENCES…and a KNIFE HAND!!!
Welcome back to the Team Room, here with the OnesReady crew! On this action-packed twist-filled episode, we focus on the five-meter target; "How do I make the transition from civilian life to being an Airman?" Most importantly, you'll hear from the squad on how to avoid pitfalls, what to expect, and how to be the best possible Airman. Everything from day to day Basic Training events, personal experiences, stories, and Peaches unleashes the deadliest tool in the military today- the seldom-seen long-range knife-hand.
Intro
You're listening to the Ones Ready podcast, a team of Air Force Special Operators forged in combat with over 70 years of combined operational experience as well as a decade of selection instructor experience. If you're tired of settling and you want to do something you truly believe in, you're in the right place. Now here's your host, former prep course ops superintendent and current Special Reconnaissance training guru, Trent Seegmiller.
Trent: Hey, y'all. Welcome to another episode with One's Ready. You're in the Team Room. Today we're going to be talking about what you're going to experience as you transition away from civilian life where you're all comfortable and happy into the military. So when you talk about what it's like when you joined the Air Force, some of the things that you're gonna run up against and how to deal with some of those problems. First things first, we want to thank you all for watching, for listening, for leaving all your comments and your reviews. Make sure you check us out on Apple podcasts. Leave us a review on there and then also YouTube. Check it out. Leave us a bunch of comments. Let us know what we're doing, right, what we're doing wrong, things you want to hear about, things. Don't want to hear about. Also, we're on Spotify, Stitcher. Basically everything else that all you kids know about. We appreciate all the support. We do this for you guys. Thank you for everything.
Joining the Air Force
Basic Training is an often overlooked stress inducing event for Special Warfare candidates.
New place, faces, allergens and weather.
Aaron make sure everyone knows that Africa is hot.
Trent makes an obligatory age joke before asking Peach to share his BMT experience.
Take A Shower
Peach talks about feeling like he was behind the power curve with regards to having a basic understanding of how the military works. He then recalls being amazed at the efficiency of the shower situation in BMT. It is a feat of logistics.
Aaron points out that military experiences sometimes don’t translate into civilian life.
Peach talks about how fast he had to eat at BMT. He was always starving. When he arrived at INDOC he was on the struggle bus.
Trent and Aaron have an in depth conversation about what is required to put PA or Dr in front of your name. Apparently my experience on social media is not reality. On to Brian’s BMT experience.
Nut To Butt
Trent tries to explain how your body releases cortisol under stress; psychological and physical. Asks Brian to explain and share his BMT experience.
Brian deftly explains how cortisol affects your performance and then talks about how his personal bubble disappeared once he was in BMT and INDOC. At this point he says “nut to butt” and things get interesting.
Aaron doesn’t want to talk about it, Peach wants to talk about peeing in the pool. It can only go up from here.
Brian talks about what it’s like being in the pool during the winter when the heater goes out. On top of that, you don’t want to be that guy who asks to use the restroom in the middle of a training event.
Apparently there is always one guy who decides that his needs supersede the team’s needs. And Brian talks about team naming conventions.
Brian talks about coming into the Air Force and losing his personal bubble. No one sleeps much the first few nights. There are all kinds of new rules. There is music that blares in the morning that means stuff. There are people from all over the country, and a few from outside the country, forced to interact and get along. I get the impression that marching isn’t Brian’s favorite thing. All of these things spike cortisol levels.
Trent asks Aaron if he cried when they cut his hair.
Aaron has the fastest growing hair in history. Google it. You’ll see.
Aaron talks about how it felt having his individuality stripped away and some of the things he had to do that didn’t make sense at the time. Nothing is the same as it is at home. Everyone has to do the same things. You don’t get to decide when or how you PT.
Aaron really breaks down why all of the military traditions and methods for training us eventually makes sense.
Air Force Basic Training is not the most physically intense but still induces stress.
Trent is disappointed with the BMT PT. He also didn’t automatically feel like an Airman for a while. When did Brian first feel more like Airman Silva and not Brian?
We take a quick trip down nostalgia road to talk about pagers and pay phones. Ask your parents about it.
The team takes a moment to make fun of our younger selves.
Brian’s Epiphany
Brian gets on team and starts contributing to the mission. He completes the transition from Brian to PJ.
For some reason Aaron asks Peach a question and then immediately interrupts him leading to a knife hand incident. It was scary.
Aaron’s Light Bulb Moment
Aaron was a young phys tech at SERE school. While he was contemplating his existence and staring at the stars when he realized that he had truly become an Airman.
Peaches’ Light Bulb
Peach feels nostalgic when he jumps knowing that it won’t last forever. The closeness of the team in that moment is real and intangible at the same time.
Trent asks Aaron if he ever felt regret for joining the Air Force.
Aaron never regretted joining. It was a transformative. Changed his world view.
We all talk about how our experiences have changed the way we interact with and view the world.
Trent puts Peach on the spot. Asks for Chief level advice for someone just joining the Air Force.
Stay Humble
Peach mentors us all about finding your role and staying humble. You’re not better or worse than anyone else. Focus on making you and your team better.
Trent and Aaron talk about how students are dealt with if they disrespect other folks on the base.
The team talks about how everyone in the community stands out and how it’s impossible to hide.
Brian’s Life Pro Tip
Figure out your boundaries. Find your teammates. Rely on your teammates and be there for them to rely on.
Aaron’s Life Pro Tip
Buy into the process. Take care of your people. Focus on being the best version of yourself you can be.
Steal sayings from Trent.
Peaches’ Pro Tip
Lose your ego. Ask for help if you need it.
Trent Is A Nerd
Trent tells a BMT war story about being a nerd and being positive. Brian rightly points out that you may want to adjust tactics once you get to the selection course. Peach reminds you to view extra training as an opportunity to get better.
The team discusses how the guys that talked a lot in the beginning did at INDOC.
Aaron and Trent finish the open discussion by pleading with the students to answer the questions you are asked. Don’t overthink it.
Recap
Brian: All right guys, I appreciate you listening again to another podcast, One's Ready. So basically what we went over today, again, was transitioning to being an Airman. For a lot of us, we were talking about a lot of BMT stories. Just our first experiences in the Air Force. Everything from getting our heads shaved, closing in on that personal space, taking those showers and running through that whole gamut of things to nut to button. Now you guys have a new word in your vocabulary that you can explain to other people. Right? Aside from that, closing on your personal space, but that whole adrenaline rush that you're gonna feel and now with BMT the way that it is, you're also going to have some PJ's that are going to come down and help you train. You're going to have nutritional experts that are gonna help you along the way. They're really gearing you guys up. You're going to be in a flight that's going to have SW guys that are in it that you're going to be through the pipeline. So really take advantage of like we were talking about with relying on your team, being open with your team. If you need help with anything, don't be afraid to ask. Although people are going to be coming from all over the country, different personalities, different ideas are a good thing for you to execute whatever tasks is going to be in front of you. So don't be afraid to reach out. Learn things from other guys. Don't have that ego like Peach was saying, put that aside and focus on the task at hand, the mission that needs to be done for the team, not only in basic training but also when you get into selection and beyond that operationally. Putting aside your ego, relying on the team and using your expertise, whatever it may be in, in order to help the team. So that's most of what we talked about on this episode. So really appreciate you guys. Just like to was saying, listening to the podcast again, go ahead and subscribe on YouTube. Leave us some comments. You can go to the onesready.com. Additionally, anything that we can do to further your guys' education, throw out stuff. We're always open to topics. We're always open to you guys sending us DMS on Instagram and we will always get back to you guys. So we appreciate you listening. Again, please leave us a review on Apple podcasts and we'll see you guys next time. Earn each breath.
TLDR: Be prepared for the stress associated with joining the Air Force. Buy into the process and be positive. Leave your ego at the door.
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