Page 7 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt 7-31-15

Thunderbolt NEWS July 31, 2015 7
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Crossing over: Enlisted to officer

Courtesy photo by Senior Airman “It’s almost like going to basic training twice,” he
DEVANTE WILLIAMS said. “They want to see how you handle stress and
Second Lt. Shaun Chaplain, 56th Comptroller Squadron accomplish tasks on your own. The great thing about
ÀLJKWFRPPDQGHUVXUYH\VKLVVXUURXQGLQJVDWDQXQ- 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs OTS was that there was a mixture of people in the
class, from senior NCOs to brand new students that
named deployed location when he was still an enlisted The Air Force has been building leaders since its be- had never done anything Air Force related. It was
ginning. definitely nice to see everyone working together.”
member. From a technical sergeant in cyber operations,
For 2nd Lt. Shaun Chaplain, 56th Comptroller Squad- With Chaplain as a fresh second lieutenant, he’s
he became a second lieutenant three months ago after URQ ÁLJKW FRPPDQGHU KH PDGH WKH FDUHHU GHFLVLRQ KH ready for a leadership role.
FRPSOHWLQJ2I¿FHU7UDLQLQJ6FKRRO/XNH$LU)RUFH%DVH knew would change his outcome in the Air Force. From
LVKLV¿UVWDVVLJQPHQWDVDQRI¿FHU $LUPHQUDQNVWRJHQHUDORIÀFHUWKH$LU)RUFHPDNHVVXUH “I know what it’s like to have bad leadership,” he
Airmen are equipped with the tools they need to lead said. “That’s what gave me even more motivation to
other Airmen. become an officer. Hopefully I can be an even better
officer, because I know what it feels like to be on the
Before joining the Air Force, Chaplain was working enlisted side of the Air Force. I want to be the leader
dead-end jobs to make ends meet and afford college. He that Airmen below me can depend on.”
knew it wouldn’t get him close to reaching his goal of
earning a degree, so he turned to the Air Force. Chaplain’s first order of business is to learn his new
career field as a finance flight commander.
“The two reasons why I joined were to serve my country
and to better myself,” he said. “I was working at a job with “This is my first base as an officer,” he said. “Three
no future, and I knew I couldn’t get far in life nor continue months ago I was a tech sergeant working under cyber
to pay for college. My friend suggested I should join the operations. Now I’m the flight commander for the 56th
Air Force and here I am.” CPTS. There is still a ton of information I need to learn,
but I’m excited to be in this career field.”
Chaplain was a technical sergeant working under cyber
operations. While he enjoyed it, his ultimate goal was to The 56th CPTS Airmen are excited to have Chaplain
EHFRPHDQRIÀFHU on board and to make his transition into the finance
career field smooth.
´,WZDVDOZD\VDJRDORIPLQHWREHFRPHDQRIÀFHUµKH
VDLG´,WWRRNPHDORQJWLPHWRÀQLVKP\GHJUHHDQGWKH “I’m excited that he’s working with us,” said Air-
timing was never right. It took me almost 11 years to go man 1st Class Kevin Dawson, 56th CPTS customer
WR2IÀFHU7UDLQLQJ6FKRROµ service technician. “He’s aiming to be a great leader,
and I know that once he gets completely spun up in
OTS is a nine-week program that develops civilians and the finance career field, he will help continue to make
HQOLVWHGPHPEHUVLQWRRIÀFHUV276UHFHQWO\FKDQJHGFXUULF- CPTS run well.”
ulum so active-duty, Reserve and Guard are all in one class.

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