A Military Christmas

The holidays are always interesting for a military family. Many are without loved ones or away from family because of where they are stationed. Husbands and wives exchange gifts via Skype and little ones miss their parents who remain on the other side of the world.

I am very fortunate that my husband has not yet been deployed for a Christmas but we have not been home for Christmas Day in three years. Instead, our families hold everything until we are able to make it home and often, Christmas is not celebrated until New Years. I must admit, as tough as it is to not be with all of our family on the actual day, we've gotten into a routine and have begun to create our own little holiday traditions.

So, on this week of Christmas, I would like to say thank you to the military members who are away and to their families who will be without them this year. We all appreciate you so much and wish you a Merry Christmas!

What a Crazy Year...So Far

Its becoming that time of year when everyone thinks about what they are thankful for and I would like to share with you why I am grateful!

This year has been an interesting one...from my husband's first deployment, to a move and a new position at the station...a lot has happened. There have definitely been some rough spots but some things remain constant, such as the wonderful people who are my friends and family.

I am very thankful for everyone who has supported me and been there for me this year. I am also grateful for my job and the new adventures that have come with working the morning shift.

Thank you, to the men and women of the military who protect our freedoms as well as the police and firemen who keep us safe every day.

There is so much to be thankful for and sometimes, we take the many blessings in our lives for granted. So, lets all try to take a moment today to give thanks for the people we love and all of the things we have been blessed with.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Long Night.....

Recently, my husband and I experienced a pretty stressful process.....a little thing called being an alternate.

When a deployment list comes out for a squadron, there are always "alternates" on that list. The purpose of an this is to have extra people ready to leave in case something comes up. This is completely understandable but is not easy on the family of the person in that position. Until that deployment actually leaves, we have no idea whether or not our spouse is going!

This scenario is what my husband and I went through with the last deployment that left. Fortunately, he ended up not leaving but it was a very long night waiting to find out whether he was leaving or coming back home. I have to say, that was a very long night but in some ways, I think it was harder on my husband than me. Although he wanted to stay here with me, there was a part of him that wanted to be with his fellow airmen, a part that wanted to complete the mission.

It was a stressful situation for both of us and I don't wish being an alternate on anyone. As difficult as it was to watch the rest of his squadron leave without him, we are very lucky that he gets to stay home at least for a little while longer.

My C-130 Experience!

As the spouse of a C-130 pilot, I have often wondered what it is like to fly around in that huge aircraft. Well, I had the chance to experience it!!

Once a year, Dyess holds a Spouse's Day, where we can go to the squadron and take part in activities that our husbands do every day. We had the opportunity to tour the control tower, "train" in the simulator and even take a real flight in a C-130!

The entire concept of a Spouse's Day is great because it is sometimes hard to understand why our guys come home at the end of the day feeling exhausted and "beaten" from flying.

Let me tell you....now, I understand! It is rough flying in a C-130! The day we went, we had clear skies, calm winds and we still had incredible turbulence. I will say, I was not feeling so well by the time we landed.

So, kudos to all of the C-130 crews for being able to handle those flights day in and day out! We thank you all for what you do. :)

Fun at the Fair!

The great thing about moving around with the military is that we have the chance to experience tons of different activities and events based on our location. One example of this is the West Texas Fair and Rodeo!

My husband and I have gone to the fair for the past two years and we love it. The food, the rides, the animals.....my personal favorite is the petting zoo. :) Every year, we make sure to make a donation and get one of those little cups of food to feed the animals. It's so much fun!

Another thing we got to do this year was try one of those crazy fried concoctions. We ate fried Oreos and fried Snickers (we shared them so we wouldn't feel as guilty)....we were in agreement that the Oreos were the best!

We have such a good time experiencing all that Abilene has to offer and we look forward to more adventures in West Texas. :)

A New Adventure!

For those of you who have not yet heard, I am the new KTAB Morning Meteorologist! I have been in this position for a little less than two months and I am really enjoying it.

I must admit that the schedule has been a little tough to get used to but overall, this has been a positive move and I believe it will be great for future employment.

I love the people of the morning crew that I have gotten to know better over the last few weeks. We have a blast chatting, making funny faces and dancing (yes, I said dancing) around during commercial breaks. We have every local ad memorized and can sing all of the jingles....and all of this, at 5:30 AM! :)

I am also happy to be Ron's new partner in the morning and we have fun on the news desk. So, here's to a new journey and to all of the wonderful people who make it enjoyable to get up that early in the morning!

The Wonderful People of the Big Country

My husband and I have been in the Big Country for about a year and a half. Now, although this was far from where we wanted to end up, Abilene has proved to be a wonderful place to live. Its true, there are no theme parks or giant malls...and it takes about 10-15 minutes to get anywhere in town but the people here are fantastic.


The Big Country in general is very military friendly and that is evident from restaurants and other businesses who provide military discounts, to people who say thank you when my husband is in uniform.


For example...not too long ago, my husband was checking out at Target and upon paying he realized he forgot to buy a bottle of water. He was simply going to get one and get back in line. Instead, the woman behind him said she would buy his bottle of water for him because "it was the least she could do". You can't help but be touched by how appreciative people can be.

So thank you all for your support of Dyess Air Force Base and its personnel. I happen to know that they appreciate you too.

Welcome Home!!

As some of you may know, my husband has been deployed with the 317th Airlift Group for the past four months. This was our first deployment and a learning experience for both of us. The day he left was pretty awful and I must admit, I haven't cried like that since I moved away from my family.


Although deployments are challenging, they are a chance to grow and become more independent. Let me tell you, we faced our share of inconveniences over the past several months. As you probably remember from past blogs, I had to deal with everything from the car not starting to moving our belongings to a new residence.

It wasn't long ago that I didn't know whether or not I could handle being alone and holding down the fort here in Abilene. It was tough at times but now, I can honestly say I am a stronger and more independent person than I was before.

I am very proud of our men and women here at Dyess and of what they accomplished over the last four months. Also, I am proud of the families who stayed behind and took care of things on the home front.

I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who supported me during this process. My family back home, my KRBC/KTAB family and my fellow military spouses all made this experience easier and I love you all very much!

Thank You Air Force Family!

I want to dedicate this blog to all of the wonderful people who took time out of their weekend to help me move to a new residence.

You may be asking, why the home? Well, my husband and I rented a home here in Abilene and had lived there for almost a year. A couple of months ago, we were notified that the owners of the property were moving back to Abilene and they wanted their house back! Needless to say, I was upset and it was quite interesting trying to find a new place to live.

You may recall from my last blog that inconvenient things seem to happen when my husband leaves town....well, here's one more thing to add to the list. It just so happened that the weekend we had reserved to move into the new house, my husband was gone! Perfect, right?? Well, just when it seemed that the move was going to be impossible, my husband's co-workers came to my rescue.

I couldn't believe the number of people who showed up to help while my husband was gone. The amazing thing about the individuals who came to my aid, was that some of them don't even know my husband or me...they came just because we are members of the Air Force faimly.

I must admit, back when my husband and I became engaged, I was a little skeptical of the whole "military family" thing. Now, I can honestly say that it is true...the military is a family and they are there for each other no matter what.

So, here is a special thanks to all who helped me this past weekend. Thank you to those who organized and found people, thank you to everyone who gave their time and efforts to help.

You are all wonderful!!

Stuff Happens

Something you learn pretty quickly as a military spouse, is that the second your husband leaves town, something inconvenient is bound to happen! Case in point, my husband had to go on a short trip and what happens...the car dies and the air conditioner stops working!

Keep in mind, both of these things happened within a two day period of time and of course there is no way to get in contact with my husband because he's flying. Believe it or not, the Air Force has actually held spouse meetings in which they warned us of these things. They said, be prepared for any and every scenario in which, normally, it would take both you and your spouse to deal with the issue. Boy, were they right!

So to all of my fellow military spouses, I wish you the best of luck in dealing with the inconveniences which will definitely happen at the most inopportune times. :) Keep smiling and tell your husband/wife they better bring you something good from wherever it is they went!

Goodbye Spouse Education Money...

One frustrating aspect of being a military spouse is not always being able to find a job after a permanent change of station. Personally, I have experienced this too often. When you move to a completely new area of the country, or even overseas, it is very difficult to locate and secure a job in your given field. For example, up until our move to Abilene, my husband and I relocated every 6 months...not very career friendly.

One way that the government has tried to help, is the launch of an Education Assistance Program for military spouses. This program allows a military spouse up to $6,000 for career advancing education and/or training. Sounds great, right? Well, it is until the government runs out of funds....

As of this past week, the Defense Department has suspended the assistance program which was aiding more than 98,000 military spouses. As you might assume, there is quite the outrage at this recent announcement.

A military spouse's career almost always takes the back seat to the service member's. We have to be ready to relocate at a moment's notice, ready to run the household while the husband/wife is deployed, prepared to make tough decisions and raise children alone, all while trying to maintain our own identity and achieve our own dreams.

Albeit a blow to military spouses, we all must sacrifice in some way.

Dyess' Response To Haiti

The earthquake disaster in Haiti has been the topic of conversations for awhile now but maybe not from the perspective that I’d like to share. The preparations made by the men and women of Dyess Air Force Base and what they go through to be ready for such an event.

First, it takes the members of the Air Force (at least the pilots) an extended period of instruction and exercises to get to the point where they are ready to fulfill a mission such as the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. In fact, my husband has been in training for over two years and still not flown a real mission. There are practice exercises, war games, and survival schools, not to mention, actually learning to fly. There are years of classes and simulations and lots of studying and tests. Then, and only then, are the men and women ready to take up their positions when called to help.

What many do not realize is that there is much more to the execution of a mission than the people in the plane. When the Haiti tragedy struck the Dyess family was put into action. Airmen were doing any and every job that needed to be done. Some were handing our Malaria pills, some were locked in a security vault putting together packs, and some were sitting at the flight line desk until all hours, in case they were called to duty.

Tragedies like the earthquake in Haiti are exactly why the men and women of the armed forces train. Their number one priority is the mission, which means that the second they are needed,they go, no questions asked. From a spouse's point of view, this can be frustrating and scary but we remember that there is a bigger picture and a greater cause.

I’m very proud of my military family for all of the efforts they have made for Haiti and I know that the Haitian people are eternally grateful as well.

Introductions

WELCOME to my brand new blog! My name is Nance' Burgin and I am one of KRBC's meteorologists. Something you may not know about me is that I am also a military spouse. My husband is a pilot in the Air Force and is currently stationed at Dyess AFB, here in Abilene.

A year ago, we were planning a move to Pope AFB in North Carolina, only hours away from our families in Florida. We were house hunting and everything when we were stunned with a change of duty station to Abilene - NOT just hours from home. After the news sunk in that we were being sent to Texas, I have to say, this girl was not happy. My husband and I were very content with being closer to Florida, where most of our families reside.

Last February I came to Abilene, begrudgingly, but now, although I still feel a little homesick from time to time; our move to Abilene has been a wonderful surprise. I have met so many genuinely nice people and have made great friends along the way...not to mention, I have a job I love!

Working in the field of television was not something that I dreamed about, but when one door closes, another opens, and I was provided with an opportunity to learn and now, I enjoy the work more than I ever thought I would!

Almost a year later I can say that although things don't always happen the way we hope and plan, they do happen for a reason. If the Air Force hadn't randomly sent us to Abilene then I may never have gotten the chance to meet all of you across a television screen.

Looking forward to the future! :)