proudly serving

People often ask me what it was like to be in the military. Why did I go in, why did I get out, did I see/do anything cool… yes it seems that the military is a source of curiosity for a lot of people. I suppose I went into the military for the same reasons that most people do, money for college, travel the world, and the discipline and honor of serving my country. My parents really supported and encouraged me in that decision and I am so thankful for that. Thanks to the guidance of my big brother, I chose the best branch to go into, the Air Force of course, no offense to my brothers and sisters in other branches!!

Training in the military is much like you see in the movies. It sucks, to put it bluntly. You don’t have any freedom, privacy or privileges, and you don’t know how to do anything right. Yes the instructors yell all the time and call you names and tell you how stupid you are. And you don’t know what PT is until you have ran 4 miles, in formation, at 4:45 in the morning, well before the first light of day. In boot camp, every minute detail matters, even the strings of thread around the buttons on your uniforms (BDU’s), those must be found and clipped off with fingernail clippers. Boot camp is all just a big mind game, and if you learn how to play, you’ll do just fine. It is still the most physically and mentally challenging experience that most people will ever go through. Once you make it through that, it’s on to the next phase of training, depending on your job, which for me was law enforcement, security and ground combat skills. Yay. That was even harder than boot!

I made it through those 3 months somehow.. but nothing could have prepared me for the day that my orders were announced: One year at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. Imagine what that phone call to my mom was like. Scared doesn’t even begin to describe it. I cried the whole flight from DFW to the port of call in Seattle. As much as I didn’t want to leave home for a year and as scared as I was, I knew in my knower, that God had a purpose. The fact that my very best friend in the whole world was Korean and she had already taught me a lot of the language, etc., was a clue to that. We definitely had peace that the Lord had specifically chosen me to go to Korea, It was incredibly hard, and just as bad as I thought it would be at times. I missed home like crazy. Things like shopping malls, Chick-fil-a, driving down the highway and seeing signs in English!! You don’t realize all the things you love about this country until you’re kept out of it. Oh how my heart ached. Some of the Koreans would protest at the base every Friday demanding that we leave, and we had to dress up in full riot gear and be prepared for an attack. That hurt, considering that we were there for them, yet I don’t completely blame them. They’ve been hurt, too. That’s not to say all of them felt that way though, there were some that loved us and worked on base with us. Precious people! The best thing about my time in Korea though was definitely the wonderful people I met. Without the military family, none of us could make it. That and getting chicken fried rice and bottled Pepsi down at Mr. Young’s in A-town… yeah they don’t make it like that over here! Of course now I love the Korean people, I have a heart for that country and I know I will be going back. After Korea, I went to Moody AFB, in Valdosta, Georgia. Oh how glad I was to be back in the glorious US of A!

To answer your questions, I went into the Air Force for many reasons, such as money for college. I got out because I knew I couldn’t do 20 years, it just wasn’t for me. I knew the Lord had another plan. Yes I did a lot of cool things, like firing an M-16, an M-203 grenade launcher and throwing a live grenade. It was the toughest and loneliest time however. I gave up everything, my personal freedom, to serve. Yet I never regretted serving, and never will. And that’s why I wanted to write this, as a memorial to those who have served. We sacrificed our own desires to protect this awesome country, and no one can ever take away the honor, the dignity, and the pride we have in serving this country. I love you all.. and God will bless our sacrifice. I salute you~

Forever indebted to those who served and died,

A1C Patterson

31SFS (Moody AFB, GA)

8SFS (Kunsan AB, Korea, PACAF)

United States Air Force

into the deep

October 15, 2008

I can hardly believe that we are in the final months of 2008. This year has been a defining year in my life. And it’s not because I reached an important goal I had set, or completed any major undertakings. I wouldn’t even say that I’m a better or stronger person or have more faith than ever before because of this year. In fact, quite the opposite is true. I feel weaker, more vulnerable, and with less faith than I can remember. This year has been defining for me in the sense that I have learned some hard life lessons about this life and this walk of faith.

I guess it happens for most people at some point in life… Young people usually don’t understand because you don’t learn these lessons until you really have to face some challenges. For example, what do you say to the person who has been diagnosed with a rare illness that is so excruciating they can no longer function normally? They have done everything they can think of to seek and believe for their healing. It’s been years, their finances are gone, the pain and disappointment is unbearable. Yet they are doing all they can to believe for healing. What do you say? What about the lovely lady in her 50’s that wanted to have a family of her own, but the time passed and that never happened for her. She makes do and tries to enjoy the life she has. What can you say? I met these people this year. I felt their pain… I felt my own.

I don’t have the answers. But here is what I have learned this year. I learned that you can do everything right, and things still may not work out. You can even believe with all your heart and do everything the Lord instructs, and a promise may still end up lost in sin, unable to be fulfilled the way it was originally given. Why am I writing this? Why do I sound so down, so hopeless, so seemingly lifeless and faithless?

Well, I have come to understand that there are periods of time like this in probably most people’s lives. Times where nothing is working out, no matter what they do, try or believe. Times when faith, hope, even love, are ostensibly elusive. What is one to do during times like those? The only conclusion, the only answer I have to any of this, is to still hold on to the Lord with any fraction of a strand you may have left at the moment. No matter how angry, how frustrated, how even bitter you might be. How can I even say that? Well, here’s my perspective on it: what’s the alternative? To blame God for things, turn our backs on Him and serve the devil? We either serve God or the devil, there is no in between. Never! Never will I knowingly serve the devil, and risk ending up being tormented by him for an eternity in darkness, away from the love and light of my Daddy Who made me. And please don’t see this as condescending by any means. This is just real. I had to make a choice. I either endure whatever comes and keeping loving Jesus.. or let the other one win…. I'm also saying I can understand now how people can get to that point and I have so much compassion for them.

You see, on my darkest nights this year, when I didn’t know if I would make it through the night, times when the fear was so great it was unbearable and I prayed for the Lord to go ahead and take me, I later saw in my mind’s eye that my Jesus was sitting right there beside me. He was with me, concerned for me, stroking my hair. He did allow me to face the fear and the trial and sickness, but I never faced it alone. I’ve never had to face the darkness without Him. The other thing is, my trial is not over yet. There hasn’t been a happy ending as of yet. Things still haven’t worked out in a lot of ways. So I hope that knowing that even while still in my trial, I choose to stand for my Lord, my Daddy, that I say no matter what, I will not turn away from Him because I want to be with Him for eternity, will impact someone. It’s often easier to say it after it’s all over with and things are better. But this year I’ve learned that holding on to the love of my Daddy no matter what is the most important thing I can do. This life will be over soon… and I cannot wait to be with Him in the eternal city forever. No more struggling, no more trying. We’re always trying to do something, finish school, find a good job, lose weight, get married, have a baby, raise kids, pay off debt, save money, network, it goes on and on. Always trying, trying, trying. I can’t wait for it to be over! And if we can finish the race with Him, we will have our reward~

May you sense Daddy’s overwhelming, all encompassing love today….