March 30, 2018

“… She never took ‘no’ for an answer…”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “Women are often treated differently in both my military and civilian career fields, since they are male-dominated. I’m an equipment operator here, working with heavy machinery, and I’m a geologist on the civilian side. We, as women, have to grow tough skin and show people we can do the work just as well as men can. Doing that has made me not want

Feb. 28, 2018

“… Saw it as a way out…”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — Promoting to chief master sergeant was an indescribable moment for Martez D. Banks, 940th Operations Group superintendent. He felt fortunate to accept such a trusted position, however, he never planned to climb so high up the ranks.“It wasn’t a relief,” he said, explaining how pinning on chief was never his goal. “It wasn’t like ‘I’ve

Jan. 1, 2018

“… Looking forward to a new start …”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “I’ve had a lot to overcome in the past couple years. In 2016, I was tested for a gene linked to breast cancer, called the BRCA 1 mutation, since multiple women in my family have battled it. After testing positive and being told I had a very high risk for developing breast cancer by age 40, I decided to go through with preventative surgery and

Nov. 22, 2017

“…They’re the reason I do anything…”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “I was first assigned to Beale when I was active-duty. I was, and still am, an aircraft maintenance officer. I wanted to settle down and start a family, so I transferred to the Reserve. Now, I have been married for eight years and am a father of two. My wife loves Thanksgiving. We moved to a bigger home two years ago with the goal being to host all

Oct. 20, 2017

“…‘Til they can’t walk anymore …”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “My uncle used to scare my siblings and me when we were younger every Halloween. He would always buy these unique, limited edition-type masks and come out when we weren’t expecting it. One of my favorite Halloween memories was the time I got him back. I put on the wolf mask I had for my costume, hid in my grandparent’s basement and waited for my

Aug. 30, 2017

"... I'm working my way up..."

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “One thing I’m really into these days is weightlifting. I started about nine months ago and am working toward my first competition early next year. My journey started in high school when I was bullied and turned to food for comfort. I eventually was able to replace that with fitness. I got a job as a lifeguard, which helped because I would swim

July 7, 2017

“… We had to make our own fun…”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “I grew up in Rotorua, New Zealand, and lived there until I was 19 years old. My three brothers and I were always outside playing with our neighbors. On a normal day we would eat breakfast at seven, be out with our friends by eight and not come home until our dad whistled for dinner. We lived in a rural area, with a football field-sized yard. We

June 2, 2017

“… It’s more than a sport…”

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — One of my favorite things in life is soccer. I grew up a military brat, with both parents in the Air Force. We were stationed overseas until I was 8 years old. While we were in England, my dad taught me how to play soccer and I have been playing ever since. After we moved back to the states, I joined my first team. I met my best friend on that team

May 17, 2017

"… It wasn't my dream to become a pilot…"

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — “My childhood dream was to become a racecar driver or an astronaut. When I was in sixth grade, my class made a time capsule and a friend of mine wrote he was convinced I would become a NASCAR driver. But reality set in. After high school, I wasn’t firmly committed to college, so I joined the Air National Guard. A few years in, I started to seek

April 27, 2017

"... The passing rate is about seven percent..."

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, California — "I began my military career in the Army, working in infantry, and loved it. I earned a lot of respect being the only private (PV1) in my unit to be airborne-qualified and to have my expert infantry badge. To earn the badge, I completed and passed a week’s worth of testing, ranging from day and night land navigation to a 12-mile ruck in under three