That One Time I Wanted Will to Be an Air Force Pilot

"I don't want to be Meg Ryan." - Socrates

I think Socrates also added that "acronyms are the road to true virtue." Pretty sure Plato blogged it. If so, prepare to be virtuous. We are chock full of acronyms in this post.

Will became interested in Air Force JAG and applied to the One Year College Program (OYCP) during his 2L year. Long story short, I also applied and was selected but was denied medical clearance. Luckily, I was able to find another job quickly. A few short weeks after I accepted this position, Will received a call that he was accepted into the OCYP. He immediately contacted his detachment and started ROTC to prepare for Field Training that summer. It all happened in a whirlwind.

His name badge was still hot off the sewing machine in this photo.  

It was a tight learning curve. I must admit, if I ever have to watch another marching YouTube video ever again . . . . 

Will at Field Training

The first day I sat for the Florida Bar exam, Will left for five weeks of Field Training in Alabama. It was a fun day for both of us. 

Will still had to jump through all the hoops that an undergrad student in ROTC would have to, just on a very abbreviated timeline. (Hence, the One Year College Program.) One of these requirements was an aptitude test called the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT). He ended up scoring higher than many of his peers who were selected to become pilots (i.e., pilot-rated dudes). Enter my quest to convince Will to become a pilot, rather than a dinky old military lawyer. (He has me note that he didn't take the TBAS. I don't know what this one stands for.) 

Our first Dining Out. Obviously in November. Wouldn't wings look good on him?

I was all TOP GUN! Hell yeah! Let's do this! Cool high fives! (I realize Top Gun does not feature Air Force pilots, nor does the TV show "JAG" for that matter. Air Force pilots have even better hair and cooler sunglasses than Maverick, Ice Box, and Goose combined.)

I even discussed the prospect with some of my coworkers (all, of course, people in the legal profession) and they agreed. Consensus = it's way cooler to be a pilot's wife than a lawyer's wife. I mean, I'm already a lawyer, and it ain't all that. (Trust me, I'm a lawyer.)

I set myself on a course to convince Will it was the right career choice for him. He kept pushing back, saying filthy things like, "I WENT TO LAW SCHOOL TO BE A LAWYER!" Psh. He even had the nerve to say, "I'd rather be flown than be flying." What a diva.

That.very.weekend, what else is on cable television but the legendary movie, TOP GUN? If it wasn't a sign from Our Creator, I don't know what is, because when we flipped over it was at the very scene where (SPOILER ALERT) Goose dies in a tragic training exercise gone wrong.

This is what was happening when we turned the channel. I mean really. 

I had to take eat my words. Meg Ryan plays Goose's wife. She was left but a widow! Socrates rightly did not want to be Meg Ryan. Nor do I. Nor do I. 

And that was the three days when I thought I wanted Will to be an Air Force pilot. Although we do drive to work every day on I-95 in South Florida, we try to keep things low risk around here. 

Daisy approves.