Easy Come, Easy Go

Well, this blog was short-lived.  It turns out we're not going to England.  It's not official quite yet, but we know the exact date the orders will be cancelled.  Why?!  I can hear you asking, if you haven't this news yet.  Let me explain...


It turns out that Allen, being a Senior Airman, has a newly decided high year tenure of 8 years.  This means the AF will only let him stay in for 8 years before he needs to separate.  The military is cutting back due to the war being over.  If Allen took his orders to RAF Mildenhall, it would put his enlistment at 9 years.  However, because of his job as an Air Traffic Controller he is exempt from the majority high year tenure of 8 years and is actually allowed to stay in for 10, since he is in a position that is much-needed in the Air Force.  It all adds up, right?  Not exactly.


There is an automated computer system that "reads" through all the orders assigned and cancels those that don't meet certain requirements.  It recognizes that Allen is a SrA and that the orders would put him over his high year tenure of 8 years, not taking into consideration his job as an ATC.  Basically, it's a gliche.  Earlier I told you that the high year tenure was a recent decision.  The AF got ahead of themselves and hasn't worked out all of the small details yet.  I assume they are working to fix this gliche in the computer system, but we don't believe it will be fixed in time for us to go to England.  It seems like Allen should be able to go to someone "higher up" to fix this.  Well, let me assure you that he tried his best!  He spoke to the ATC Functional Manager (the top enlisted ATC in the AF!) who confirmed that Allen was correct in his research, that he was exempt from this.  So, he told Allen that he would reassign his orders.  He then told him that the computer system would continue to cancel his orders, since it's automated, but that he would just need to call every time that happened and he would reassign the orders for him each time.  That, also, was short-lived.  About two days after being told this, Allen went to work and found an email saying that the next time his orders were cancelled, they were not going to reassign them.  We assume that either 1) this has become a problem for a large number of Airmen and it would be extremely time-consuming to reassign everyone's orders or 2) the ATC Functional Manager has too many other things more important to deal with.  Either way, we're not going to England.


Allen and I decided that he didn't need to fight anymore to try to get the orders fixed.  We are going to let the AF cancel them.  Are we devastated?  Absolutely not.  Disappointed?  Of course.  We were looking forward to experiencing a different way of life and visiting places we have never been.  However, we both know that the military life is one that often changes very rapidly.  What doesn't change is God's love for us and his plan for our life.  We are absolutely confident that God has us in His hands and will take us where He wants us to be, where He can use us to fulfill His will.  Knowing this just makes us more excited to learn what He really has in store for us.  Maybe we will be closer to home?


The next step for us is Allen's reenlistment in May.  This will give him the opportunity to BOP (choose a base of preference) which will most likely happen within a year.  We're excited to stay in Grand Forks through another summer, since it's absolutely beautiful here.  But with another summer also brings another winter.  We've survived four and we know we can survive one more!


Finally, you may be wondering what's going to happen to my blog.  Macs and Wellybobs seems a little inappropriate now that we're not going to England.  I will continue to blog about our journey through life, however I plan on changing the name.  I haven't decided exactly what it will be, but I do know that the name will revolve around the verse Psalm 139:9-10, which says "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."  I love this verse because God tells me that no matter where the AF decides to send our family, I know that God will protect us.  I'm excited to see where He will take us next!

Behind The Name

So, I certainly don't consider myself to be a writer in any way, shape or form and, honestly, I can't say I've ever had an interest in starting my own blog...until recently.  A couple friends of mine blog and after reading theirs I decided it was an awesome way to keep in touch with far-away family and friends...a way to display pictures and videos, along with describing new experiences.  It's possibly the next best thing to being there themselves.  And with how rapidly our kiddos are growing, I can keep them updated on them as well, which is probably what they're most interested in!  As Allen (my husband) and I prepare for our upcoming move to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, we're excited to experience new culture and different foods!  And although we're fortunate to be moving to a country that speaks the same language as us, I'm sure there will be times we get lost in translation.  In fact, I was reading a website for British slang earlier and learned that pants in British means 'underwear'!  Yikes!  I can see this getting us in trouble at some point.  Open mouth, insert foot.  So, this is where my blog name, 'Macs & Wellybobs' came from.  Mac is slang for raincoat, which comes from the inventor of the trench coat, Mr. Macintosh.  Wellybob, aka Wellies in the informal, is what they call their rainboots.  It is short for Wellington boots, named after the Duke of Wellington.  Macs and Wellybobs, two things we're sure to need in England!