Altus Air Force Base News

 

Enlisted Airman to USAFA cadet

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nathan Clark
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (Feb. 5, 2015) --  Many people dream of attending the United States Air Force Academy, but for one Altus Airman, that dream will soon be a reality.

On Jan. 30, 2015, Airman Eamon Shannon, a bioenvironmental engineering apprentice with the 97th Medical Group, received a letter of acceptance from the USAFA, realizing a childhood dream of his.

In 2005 his sister was accepted to the USAFA and graduated in 2009, going on to work in space command, said Shannon. Seeing her have a job she wanted and what she was able to accomplish at school was his main inspiration of wanting to attend the academy. 

Although it was a long term goal to attend the USAFA, Shannon decided to enlist in 2014 after high school, he said. "I knew what I was getting in to, but I wanted to get some experience before heading to the academy and enlisting first seemed like the best opportunity."

Considering that much of the life as a cadet in the USAFA is basic training, Shannon will be familiar with the lifestyle. "I'm looking forward to being able to help the other cadets, since I've been through basic, I know what to expect," he said. "There was an ex-cadet in my basic training flight and he was so helpful to everyone, and I hope to be that for others."

Overcoming challenges is nothing new for Shannon, even before basic. He set out to make himself competitive, which was no easy feat.

"I took the American College Test five times, took challenging classes in high school, and got honor grad in BMT and tech. school," he said. "I always tried to do the best I could and I knew that would reflect on my application."

"The hardest part was the pull-ups on the fitness assessment," he said. "I'd never done them before and I started with one, but eventually I got up to 12."

Even with his ultimate goal in his sights and getting closer, Shannon is grateful for his time here. "I love the people I work with; they all have been very supportive and I will miss being able to do my job here," said Shannon. "Altus has been great and I can't complain about it in anyway."

Shannon has aspirations to be a fighter pilot, but said he'd be happy with flying anything. "I wouldn't mind coming back here to fly the C-17."

"I want to thank everyone who helped me in the process, from everyone who wrote me letters of recommendation, to my supervisors who helped me learn my job even though I'll be leaving soon," Shannon said.