Behind the Blue Beret

By Jonathan Williams

Behind the Blue Beret is my memoir of my military enlistment in the United States Air Force as a Security Forces Member.

Not only have I been involved in a number of law enforcement situations, air base defense attacks in a location that only a select few service members have ever traveled in, and humorous personal situations to boot. But I received numerous injuries to my back, and psychological trauma that relates to several million newer and hundreds of millions of older veterans throughout the world.

For years when I was in the military I experienced so much and had a feeling of honor, courage, and self worth. I want to transfer this into my book. I have lived my life as a military member and take with me the stories, comradery, feelings, and situations with every chapter of this book that my fellow veterans can take with them and identify in their readings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781312154667

Book preview

Behind the Blue Beret

Behind the Blue Beret

Behind The Blue Beret

By Jonathan Big Will Williams

Senior Airman (Sep.) US Air Force

Security Forces Member

February 2002 – September 2005

Copyright © Jonathan Williams, 2010

All Rights Reserved

Second Edition * 2014

First Printing * 2010

Cover Art by Chris Williams

Edited by J. Tom Masullo, Jr., Ph.D.

ISBN: 978-0-557-44053-5

Table of Contents

Behind the Blue Beret

Forward

About the Author

Chapter 1 – It All Starts Here

Chapter 2 – Six Weeks of Fun

Chapter 3 – The 15 Minutes to 12 Weeks

Chapter 4 – The Land of the Rising Snow

Chapter 5 – Saving a Life

Chapter 6 – Awaiting the Green Light

Chapter 7 – Jacobabad or Bust

Chapter 8 – Life in JBAD

Chapter 9 – Our Days in Hell

Chapter 10 – 5 Hours to Freedom

Chapter 11 – The Final Days of Misawa

Chapter 12 – Back Home to My Last Duty Station

Chapter 13 – A Shock to My System

Chapter 14 – The End is here

This Book Is Dedicated To:

Harry M. Williams Jr.

(A Great Father and Soldier)

January 31, 1951 – December 30, 2006

& the Men & Women of the US Armed Forces

& Security Forces Members New & Old

Forward

For years I was in law enforcement, civilian and military, putting my life on the line every day.  When I joined the Air Force, I knew nothing about security forces.  When I went to their Academy, there is a lot that the outside world didn't know about.

When you read this book, there are a lot of exciting stories about the job, life after the job, and the meaning of the job.  In addition to these exciting stories, you have to understand the sacrifices that we went through.  A good friend of mine put it this way Law enforcement is 99% of pure boredom followed by 1% of sheer terror and adrenaline rush.

The job consists of 14 hour shifts, three days, on two days off, which involves sitting in a vehicle or standing on the tarmac, or sitting at a post in the middle of nowhere.  No matter if it was rain, sleet, snow, wind, extreme cold, blistering heat, a nice sunny day, or a combination of all, we still worked.  We still protected that resource no matter what, whether it be with our lives, or our sacrifices of long hours and dedication. We never back down, we always did our job.

As a security forces member, we are paid very little to do a huge job.  We did the job an ordinary, everyday person would have gone nuts over.  So when you read and enjoy this book, there is a lot of behind the scenes that was never added but will always be remembered.

About the Author

I was born on July 5, 1980, in Woodbury, New Jersey, to Harry and Susan Williams of Pitman, New Jersey. Even as a young boy I used to play army men, guns, build forts, etc. When I was 12 years old I started my law enforcement career and joined the Explorer’s program within the Pitman Police Department.

As I was growing up in middle and high school, I was trained in all types of police and criminal justice techniques and philosophies. In addition to these attributes I worked with police officers in on the job training during special events, daily patrols, or different emergencies.

When I went into my junior and senior years of high school, I enrolled in the Gloucester County Vocational School and did their two year pilot program in law enforcement. While I was enrolled in that program, I was still in the Explorer’s program with the Police Department.

After high school I enrolled in Gloucester County College under their Associate’s curriculum in law enforcement. Once 9/11 hit I joined the military under the US Air Force and was introduced to their Security Forces career field. With 60 or more credits in law enforcement, schooling, and several key security employments I went to the top of the ranks out of boot camp as an E3 or Airman First Class.

I served in the US Air Force for 3 ½ years in Texas, Japan, Pakistan, and New Jersey until I severely injured my back. I found out later that I injured my back in the remote location of Pakistan during my deployment there. After my military enlistment, I went on to work for a few years as an Anti-Terrorism Officer for the County of Adams until my body and mind could not perform my duties. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and after 15 years of being in law enforcement whether in training or on the street, I received full disability from Veteran’s Affairs for my traumas and had to continue down another path of life.

Chapter 1 – It All Starts Here

It all started at 10 a.m. on February 24, 2002, a sunny morning at Fort Dix, New Jersey, MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station.) My name is Jonathan Williams and I was about to become an Airman in the United States Air Force. Sitting in the parking lot, I was awaiting my bus to the Philadelphia International Airport for a flight that would change the rest of my life. I was with a group of others, around 20 strong, which were going to the same boot camp as I was. We all had the same hopes, dreams, and fears of What the hell did I just do!

Looking around the United States Army Base was a rude awakening to me. All I saw was older brick buildings, fading signs, soldiers in uniform marching with rucksacks and rifles, ready to deploy. A few months before this came September 11, 2001, and that day we were all reminded that almost 3,000 people lost their lives. Watching these troops preparing to go into battle was the first real motivation for me, and the first glimpse of reality. After that came the wondering in my brain is it going to be like this?

I’m going to be in uniform! Am I A Soldier in the US Military? Thousands of questions ran through my thick skull. Thousands of questions more were to come.

The bus pulled up to the front of the barracks where I was eagerly awaiting. Our designated team leader, in charge of holding our papers, our lives, and us together told us to get into the bus and let’s roll. Full of wonder and nervousness, I grabbed my backpack and boarded the bus. The bus ride only took 45 minutes from Fort Dix, New Jersey, to the Philadelphia Airport. Once we got off of the bus, the group placed all their bags into a pile and grabbed our tickets.

In the airport it was nothing but silence throughout the group, everyone was nervous, trying to keep our emotions from slipping. We were full of motivation yet looked like scared children. I thought that was a mask to pump ourselves up with what was to come. The group was full of excitement and pissing our pants all at the same time thinking of the next 24 to 48 hours of getting yelled at and pushed around. As I looked around, I noticed small clicks of individuals whispering questions of what they have heard from other people who have been through it. Stories from family, friends, recruiters, and acquaintances filled the minds of everyone.

At approximately 5 p.m., we boarded the aircraft in route to San Antonio, Texas, Airport which had stops in Atlanta, Georgia, and Dallas / Ft. Worth, Texas, Airports. As the plane took off, I looked out the window and told myself there is no going back now. During the flight, I listened to my music and thought about what it could be like. There was no way to describe it in my head; I had several scenarios bouncing around. It was like hoping for a nice welcome but expecting to get slapped upside the head. My recruiter told me a lot of what to expect. The demeanor of the drill sergeants, the tough road ahead, boot camp, technical school or academy, and the life of an Airman were just some of the finer points we discussed. He was a straight shooter to me since he was a cop as well and I came to him to join.

It was all fun and games going through the different terminals of the airports until we reached San Antonio, Texas, at around 11 p.m. There was a long, gruesome walk down a corridor as we got off the plane like a bad version of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. A few windows looked out onto the tarmac, looking at the aircraft we left. But this long corridor was bustling with recruits, all silently wondering what was to happen next. We all walked a good 100 yards down the winding corridor until we came to the opening where a few hundred more recruits were waiting for their transportation sitting Indian style on the floor corralled like cattle surrounded by men who wore brown brimmed hats and camouflage. The group was all co-ed, all races and creeds; we were all one now. As I looked around, I could see a variety of recruits. Some had weird haircuts and looked like they could pass as zombies in a bad horror flick. Others were determined to look and play the part of a recruit and were stone faced and clean shaven. But most of all, everyone looked scared shitless.

The first statement that came out of the nice gentleman with a brown brim hat on who held a clip board and was standing by the exit door was Sit the hell down!! I knew then, we were in for a world of trouble. After assembly of the crowd, the groups of recruits got up in orderly fashion, lined up, and preceded to the tour buses that waited outside the terminal to pick us up and take us to the base. Once we all got into our bus, there was complete silence. Not a peep came from the rows of fresh meat. It was pitch dark in the tour bus and nothing but outside street and business lights illuminated the drive. As we drove south through San Antonio, my heart was pounding and my thoughts were going a mile a minute wondering What is to come, what’s next?

The bus finally pulled up to the main gate of Lackland Air Force Base. A Security Forces Airman working the main gate as a sentry came on board wearing a blue beret and in full battle dress uniform to talk to the training