THE NEXT ASSIGNMENT

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Fred and I have an “inside joke” between us.  I’m sure most couples have one, as well.  You know – that “special” song that reminds you of…………  Puts you right back in that place where …………… happened.

When Fred went in the Air Force, we were somewhat eager to find what and where our first assignment would be.  Fred had been offered one of three possible career choices:  Missile Launch Officer, Munitions Officer, or Meteorologist.  Even though he had the “Marksman” distinction with a weapon, he really wasn’t into weapons that much, so Munitions Officer didn’t really appeal to him.  And “Missile Launch Officer”????  Well, not too much interest there, either.  So that left Meteorologist.  And since his undergraduate minor degree was in physics, that one made more sense to him.  So he signed on for that one.

The Air Force sent us to San Jose, California for Fred’s concentrated year of study in meteorology.  While there, his orders came through for his first assignment – Wiesbaden, West Germany!  Boy! were we excited! Toward the end of those three years in Wiesbaden, the AF asked him to give them a list of three possible AF Bases where he might like to be stationed.

So we began discussing this new situation.  First on our list was Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, of course. After all, it is in Albuquerque, our home town.  Kirtland AFB was a “flying” base – lots of airplanes with pilots who needed weather info before they flew.  We really wanted to get back to New Mexico.  I’m not sure I remember the other two “choices” he gave them.  But, in our pessimistic mind-set, we asked each other – “since we put in for New Mexico, do you suppose they’ll send us to Maine??”

Fred comes home one day, a few months before we are to return stateside, and asks – “Do you remember that joke?   You know, the one – ‘since we put in for New Mexico, do you suppose they’ll send us to Maine??’   Well, they did.”And I actually thought he was joking.  Then I realized that – the joke was on us!  We were headed to northern Maine – only three miles from the Canadian border!

So that has been our “inside joke” through the years – “do you suppose if we put in for New Mexico, they’ll send us to Maine again?”

We continued to ask for New Mexico (we were never able to be stationed there), and the AF continued to assign us somewhere else.  I’m not sure we ever were stationed where we asked to go.  Seems that God had other plans for us.  We were always able to find a good church and made long and loving friends everywhere we were assigned.  And with the exception of the northern Maine assignment, we enjoyed all the places we were sent.  We even went back to Germany for another three year tour.

But we still laugh about our “inside joke.”

Tags: Christianity, Kirtland Air Force Base, Meterology, Military Life