So apparently I was supposed to be leaving for Maryland in mid-June... Unfortunately, i wasn't able to get into the unit in Madison until the end of June. Well, then I rushed through all the inprocessing to work towards getting into the July school dates and found out some bad news. They can't get me into the July school either, so now I have to wait for the November 9th class.
While thats fine that I have to wait, my current problem is paying my bills. I've since vacated my apartment, and moved in with brother and his family up in Rockford, IL. And I've actively been looking for work for the past 2-3 months now. Nobody is biting, not even calling for interviews. This economy sucks big-time... Thanks Carter & Clinton...
So anyways, I went ahead and worked up in Madison for the ANG, and did the typical "drill" thing. It went very well. I was pleased with what I came out with, and what they had me do, aside from the first day of paperwork and inprocessing.
The first day was the typical inprocssing stuff, running around and seeing different offices, taking my oath for the state of Wisconsin (I lol'd), and all the other fun stuff associated with the Air National Guard.
On to the second day! Well it started out with me being in at a quarter to 7, so that we could go interview and shoot a couple that both got promoted on Saturday. Was pretty fun, just got to talk to them for a bit and see what kind of work they both did. Ended up taking their picture in one of the phone rooms, where all the land-lines on base are routed in & out, an interesting back-drop. :) Then immediately there after went straight to the "End-of-Runway" (EOR). The other photographer and myself were there to document (photograph) the Hot-Pit crews refueling the jets. Now Hot-Pits are when the Crew Chief & Fuels folks get together and refuel an aircraft while its still running. I remember the days when I did that in Okinawa. Wasn't much fun... but these guys only had 2 jets to refuel. So pretty quick and easy, to be honest. Took about 120 photos there and narrowed it down to 2 photos to keep and submit to the Department of Defense (DIMOC). Following the refueling we went and followed around some folks going through "Chemical Warfare" Training and took pictures of them in their chem. gear walking around in the heat and such. Only took about 30 photos there, but got one to keep and submit to DIMOC. The rest of the day was spent at a party at one of the Public Affairs folks from the headquarters building. Was a pretty good time, and got to try some Black Bear! :)
The following day, we were prepping for a base-wide "Family Day" and then fireworks at dusk, as well as a fly-by, by the bases F-16s. So that day, started at 7am, and I didn't return to my hotel until almost 11pm. Long day, but I must say, it was well worth it! :)
The rest of my time there was pretty much running around taking certain photos of whatever they needed, and then the final day (Tuesday), I went through and edited my photos as well as submitted the photos to DIMOC.
Two photos were actually picked up by the DoD and are on their website for people to use! Which of course are below! :)
Both photos by Staff Sgt. Ashley Bell (i.e. - me) - both property of the Department of Defense - released for public use.
This past Saturday, I took part in Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk (2nd Annual) here in Rockford, IL.
