The Adventures of an Air Force Medic by Dave Ives

The Adventures of an Air Force Medic by Dave Ives
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easy-to-read and holds your attention – this is a compelling glimpse into a different type of military service

After dropping out of the University of New Hampshire, aimless Sean Mitchell was finding it difficult to make ends meet (even while living at home with his parents) and developing a plan for his future. When his no-nonsense dad tells him he needs to take on more responsibility at home in addition to paying almost his entire meager salary in rent, he decides he can find something better. A coworker at the electronics firm where he works as ‘unskilled labor’ suggests he check out the opportunities available in the various military services. Sean follows that advice and soon enlists in the Air Force. Three months later, he leaves for basic training in San Antonio, Texas.

Near the end of basic training, Sean gets the life-changing news that he is colorblind, and many of the jobs he was hoping for are off-limits to him, leaving him with few options. And because he was in a hurry to leave home and enlisted without a ‘guaranteed’ job, he will be assigned to one of these according to the needs of the service—his final assignment: medical service specialist or medic – personally, his least desired job.

He completes Tech School at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, (a location he finds colder than his hometown of Pelham, New Hampshire with the winter winds whipping down from the Great Plains.) He waits with trepidation to learn that his permanent duty station is to be far-from-home Mather Air Force Base Hospital outside Sacramento, California, where he lives in the hospital dorm with a roommate, eats in the chow hall, and adjusts to life as an Air Force medic.

"Adventures" is an engaging, fun, entertaining semi-memoir by author Dave Ives and how 'Sean' gains a hold on his life and his future. In his wildest imagination, he never planned on being a medic, but he had committed himself to stand by his word and to fulfill it without whining or complaining. And his dedication made him good at his job even while he put his heart and soul into studying to win one of the spots in the coveted Airman Education and Commissioning Program to be sent to college to become an engineer (like his father.)

The chapters are vignettes of incidents that occurred during his training and hospital assignment, his growing excellence, and his pursuit of the goal of becoming an engineer; I found them captivating. The author had me rooting for Sean Mitchell, and I enjoyed his story very much.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

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