Protocol meets AFRC Command Chief at 932nd Airlift Wing.
At left, Senior Airman Donovan Klein, normally slotted in the 932nd Maintenance Group, had the honor to work background details escorting the Command Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Reserve Command, Chief Master Sgt. Ericka Kelly, during a special visit to the wing and Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, on September 6, 2018. Donovan, normally working in maintenance, doing everything from checking aircraft oil to changing huge tires, was filling in while the executive office protocol officer was deployed. The PA office asked him a few questions about his various experiences up to this point: Q. What was your thought process about enlisting and whether or not to sign on the dotted line? A. I would have enlisted by my 35th birthday, but there was a waiver down at AFRC that was not signed in time before the mandatory age limit. When it was increased in 2014, Master Sgt. Devon Montgomery called me asked if I still wanted to join. The answer was an immediate yes! I wanted to join so I can a difference and be a teammate. I joined for no other reason than to serve. Q. How many total years do you have in the military? A. I have just completed my fourth year last week. Q. How many of those were active duty? A. None, but in the four years in the Air Force Reserve, approximately sixty-eight percent has been served on active duty orders. Q. Were you always thinking "I'm a military-type" person, or at what point did the lightbulb turn on? A. Not at all. I had a lot of animosity towards the military because of the non-relationship I had with my parents, especially my father. I almost joined the Army at eighteen but it would have been for the wrong reasons and not the right mindset. It was only after I had personally forgiven my father did it start allowing me to think about the possibility of becoming an enlisted Airman or applying for a direct commission.