What's the most amazing thing you've done?

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Scott Zippwald
  • 571st Global Mobility Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  I boarded the plane and found my seat ... 8B, next to a man whom I would guess to be around 70 years old. Seemed like a nice fellow as we exchanged the necessary hellos. I had worked up a pretty good headache; I was hungry and very tired. I was hoping there would be no forced conversation between us. 

I had just landed from a seven-hour KC-135 Stratotanker continuation training mission over Oregon earlier that day, where we met up with a four-ship of F-15 Eagles for air refueling, then returned back to Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., for some pattern work. 

As a rated squadron commander in the 615th Contingency Response Wing, I was approved to go TDY every two or three months to maintain my KC-135 pilot proficiency.
The early show time and long day coupled with rushing back to Spokane airport to make the flight back to Travis compounded my headache and fueled my bad mood. "What a hassle this day has been," I thought to myself. I was in no mood to be smashed in with all these people on the flight back home. 

As the plane departed Spokane, I closed my eyes and concentrated on catching some sleep. Soon thereafter, my relaxation was interrupted ... 

"What do ya think those are?" the man next to me asked as he peered outside. He had caught sight of Fairchild AFB and the long line of tankers proudly lining the runway.
"Those are KC-135s," I answered briefly.
"Hmmm," he responded. 

I quickly closed my eyes again to signal the end of the conversation on my end. About 20 minutes later, we banked above southern Washington and I was awoken again, this time by a poke to the ribs, "Hey look," he said, "Mount St. Helens ... have you ever seen it from the sky?" 

So now I was awake. The cold air vent blowing on my face had subdued my headache and I was actually feeling okay. I left my foul mood behind and I explained to him that I had in fact just been orbiting in the same location a few hours ago, except a formation of F-15s was with me and I was at the controls of one of those KC-135s that he had seen earlier. The cat was out of the bag now, I knew I was going to have to do some talking whether I liked it or not. 

He turned to face me as my Air Force story unfolded. His eyes grew large and fixed on me as I talked about my career and shared a few of my experiences. He seemed to hang on every word and his pride was transparent through his facial expressions. It was a great conversation. I shared cool Air Force stories from my past, and he offered his thoughts on America and our freedom. 

Our long discussion was interrupted as the wheels touched down. Time had literally flown by and we were quiet for the first time since we started the discussion. As we pulled into the gate and I stood up to gather my things, the man grabbed my arm and seemed to struggle to find just the right words. 

"Thank you ... thank you for sharing all of that with me. It's a pleasure to have met you. God bless the military and men and women like you." 

"My pleasure, sir, you're a good man," I said. 

As I walked out the jet-way, my new friend from 8A caught up with me once more for a pat on the back and a thumbs up as he headed off in his own direction. 

On the drive home I recounted the day's events, my career and my Air Force life. The gentleman in seat 8A had reminded me of what an honor and privilege it is to serve in the Air Force, and how we sometimes lose sight of the extraordinary work we do. I felt refreshed and my headache was gone, but I was a little embarrassed and disappointed at my earlier mood and skewed perspective on things. 

I got home, had dinner with my family and got the kids to bed. My wife and I watched TV quietly as we ate popcorn. As we watched a Travel Channel show, a lady on screen had just landed from her first-ever parasailing ride in some tropical location. 

"That was the most amazing thing I have ever done!" she proudly exclaimed.
I thought about that for a second, and then turned to my wife and asked, "What's the most amazing thing you have ever done?" 

She didn't take long to answer, "Good question, I don't know ... I have no idea." She paused without offering anything further. "How about you?" she said, "You obviously have a lot of Air Force stuff to choose from." 

The question brought me back to my flight home and the kind gentlemen I had shared my stories with. "Yeah," I said as I smiled. "It's tough to pick just one thing out of it all." And I left it at that. 

As I lay in bed that night, I thought a lot about my service and my life in the Air Force. If you haven't lately, take a step back and think about what you've accomplished; your experiences, your travels and your service. 

The Air Force affords us many opportunities and experiences that most people will never see in lifetime. What's the most amazing thing you've ever done?