Life as a UPT spouse.

UPT is a very unique time our military life; we are in the Air Force but not fully living the AF lifestyle as it is strictly a time of training. We have yet to deal with very real active duty scenarios like deployment, "real" base life, and being surrounded by people of all ranks. Instead Jake, and all the other pilot trainees, are given other challenges like 12 hour work days, enormous amounts of stress, and being surrounded almost entirely by people of the same rank (all who are competing against eachother for the sake of their future careers).

The wives of training pilots also face significant challenges. UPT spouses often have trouble finding jobs, continuing their education, being away from family for the first time, and/or dealing with their husbands long work hours.

The way we as spouses deal with these challenges is by sticking together. When you surround yourself with other wives that know exactly what you are going through, its amazing how quickly friendships are formed and how much easier life becomes. We do everything together - bible studies, dinners, class get togethers, spouse socials, movie nights, workout sessions, shopping trips, craft nights, doggie play dates, and the list goes on. It's so nice to have girls that I can call if I ever need anything or just want to hang out with someone while Jake works late.

I've also gotten the chance to hear views on AF life from people who have lived it (Colonel's wives). The picture at the top of the post is from a dinner that was held for some of us young spouses to meet and get to know some experienced AF spouses. It was so exciting to hear of their travels and adventures and also learn the realistic downsides of military life to prepare for.

So far I have had a great experience as a spouse here at Columbus AFB. To end, here is a photo from the most recent student spouse social. These girls, Ann & Patty, are two of my closest friends here and I'm so thankful to get to go through this UPT experience with them.