Lackland AFB and San Antonio

Last week we had the pleasure of going to our grandson Brian's graduation from Basic Military Training for the Air Force and Air National Guard. It was the first time we'd been to this type of event and we were truly impressed with these young men and what they've learned in just eight weeks. So, this episode of our blog is dedicated to Airman First Class Brian C. Davis and all those men who are currently serving or who have previously served in our military.

The first event on the schedule was the Airman's Run. We hardly recognized Brian with his military haircut and the extra eight pounds he'd gained during training, but he's the one on the right side of the second row.
The next event was the Coin Ceremony which actually promoted them from Trainee to Airman....We all thought it was really cool that he officially became an Airman on Veteran's Day, November 11. We were once again fortunate enough to be sitting in exactly the right place to see the person we came to see--Brian's the third airman from the left on the back row.
It was only after the Coin Ceremony that we were actually able to be with him. Ryder had been calling "Daddy" at the Airman's Run and the Coin Ceremony, but Brian wasn't allowed to acknowledge anyone in the crowd. Here they are together after 8 long weeks apart, Ryder content in his daddy's arms but fascinated by the Air Force Coin in his hand:
We were able to stay in one of the villas on base, next door to the one our daughter Lisa, son-in-law Tom, granddaughter Amber and great-grandson Ryder had. That made it real nice since Brian only had Base Liberty that first day--we all had lunch at the base Godfather's Pizza then just hung out at the hotel for the afternoon.
The next day was the Graduation Parade and swearing-in ceremony followed by Town Liberty, the first time the new recruits were allowed off base in over 8 weeks. Most of the guys, including Brian, decided that the Riverwalk and downtown San Antonio would be a good place to spend the afternoon. Here are a few pictures we took while we were in San Antonio and Lackland AFB.



Brian's now in Wichita Falls, Texas, in Tech School learning to work on the A-10 jet engines while he hopes for an upcoming opening for a pilot with the Air National Guard 188th Squadron in Fort Smith. We're extremely proud of Brian and have no doubt that he'll be successful in his future endeavours and that he'll soon be flying those A-10 Warthogs.