Know your buy-in

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Philip Knight
  • 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – When did you buy in? It is almost cliché discussing “buy-in,” but hear me out. We all have many reasons to serve and if you ask any Airman you will be presented with a variety of answers. Sometimes it comes in a single moment, ranging from the moment you march down the bomb run at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, or the moment you are presented with your first set of master sergeant stripes. I found that it was more of a realization, than a “gotcha” moment, of how we fit into the mission.

This personal connection is vital to how you fit into the larger picture and to new Airmen it is a difficult endeavor. Leaving family and friends, taking the bus on a warm Texas night to report to basic training, is a feeling I will not forget. The fear, excitement, anxiety and anticipation of the coming weeks are a massive set of emotions to wrap your head around. At that point, I was still thinking about me, and really, what can you expect of an 18-year-old far from home taking his first steps into adulthood.

After making it through training and arriving at my first duty station, I was overwhelmed. Meeting new people, adapting to my new freedom and the responsibility of arriving to work on time without the pleasure of someone kicking my bed was a major adjustment. I was an aircraft weapons loader on the B-1 bomber, but that really hadn’t set in, until one July night. I had received my final qualifications to be a certified member of a loading crew. Our shift supervisor briefed us that we had two aircraft to load with live ordinance for a training mission the next morning.

As I completed my checklists and procedures, I walked over to the bomb-lift truck, or “jammer” as they are nicknamed, and started it up. The engine roared to life and I drove it into position to pick up the first 500-pound bomb. Just seeing the young Airman I was working with to secure the bomb to the truck and clear me to drive to the aircraft was eye opening. I watched my no.2 man as he marshalled me into position under the aircraft and set the brake. Two non-commissioned officers raced up the ladder and disappeared into the bomb bay while I stared at the city lights in the distance.

After completing the job, I was terrified and overwhelmed that as a teenager, I was given the responsibility to move live ordnance onto a priceless aircraft. Then it hit me; I am a part of this massive enterprise, the U.S. Air Force. The reality that people who may want to attack the United States thought twice about doing so because of me, my teammates and that airplane sitting in from of me was powerful. It is cliché as I said, but something clicked in that moment and I’ll never forget it. I can’t say that I always felt like that and I have had my moments over the past two decades, where I lost sight of my buy-in, but who hasn’t needed a little course correction? Believe me, I stand on the backs of some great NCOs who provided it when I got lost.

Taking frequent stock of your career and where you fit into the mission may be deliberate or through a revelation like I had 20 years ago. My batteries were recharged on many missions after cross-training to be a C-5M Galaxy loadmaster, whether it was delivering supplies to tsunami victims, or honoring the life of a fallen Airman. Today, I find it in the smiles of my children, but it can come from anywhere and at any time if you take a moment to recognize it.

Where do you fit into the mission? Where can you find that “buy-in” in the day-to-day grind to help you connect with your teammates and recharge you when the batteries begin to drain? Who knows, you may look back and find that you have lived an exceptional life.