Recently I came across a great story of a fighter pilot that overcame obstacles to become a successful and well decorated member of our armed forces, and I thought it was another great example of the spirit of Persistence that I am always talking about.
Col. Michael Hare, a recent retiree from the Air Force, who had a long and distinguished career as a fighter pilot, was a man that faced a number of setback early in life that only made him work for his success even harder!
As a teen, Hare lost his father to kidney disease at 16. He had even been matched to give his father a kidney, a sacrifice that he was willing to make, but unfortunately his father developed pneumonia before the operation and never recovered. Not handling the loss well he ended up dropping out of school.
He didn’t let this setback hold him down for too long, however, and ended up setting his sights on joining the armed force; something ironically he never would have been able to do if he had donated his father a kidney.
As he stated, “Given the choice between having this wonderful Air Force career or my dad, I’d take my dad in a heartbeat. But God does strange things and sometimes blessings come in hard ways.”
It was when he decided on joining the Air Force that he realized his true dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Though he struggled along the way, he studied hard and put in the work he need to become a fighter pilot.
It would be in his interview that he would hear the words that were his worst nightmare – “I am afraid I cannot recommend you for the Air Force training program”. Shocked and devastated that his chance to land the job of his dreams seemed over, he simply replied to the recruiter –“I believe you are wrong Sir”.
It was those exact words that the recruiter wanted to hear, and Hare was given the spot!
Hare is a great inspiration to us all! He proved that is spite of what may seem like insurmountable obstacles, and even rejection, that PERSISTENCE can, and will get you anywhere you want to go!
D.J. Nary says
Now that is truly inspirational!
Carolina Liechtenstein says
Thanks for sharing this!
Never give up.
Never lose hope.
Never assume you can’t do something great.
Never listen to nay sayers.
Work smart (efficient).
Work hard.
Be a team member.
Be a listener to mentors and instructors.
Anonymous says
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=213716&page=1
bobsyruncl says
Thats the ‘old Air Force.’ Stuff like that doesn’t happen anymore, persistence and hard work paying off all by itself is a thing of the past. You need those traits to get anywhere in the long run and to stay ahead once ahead, but getting a foot through the door requires a bit of gameplay. Its all in the paperwork now. As a former AF enlisted, I can say from experience that the ‘good’ slots for good jobs and good training, typically go to the ‘exceptional fags’ (the people who really haven’t done anything special, but are ‘boss favorites’ because they have a good line of bull, clean paperwork and because they look the part.) The people with integrity who work hard and get things done are rarely recognized. If you want something the military doesn’t like to give (like a chance to fly,) you’ll have to paint yourself as one of those ‘exceptional fags’ and keep your paperwork squeaky clean. Plenty of people have what it takes, but the AF is a policy centric, managed organization now. It no longer relies on the judgement of competent hands-on leaders. Stellar paperwork and APPEARING to be an exception is what gets a person where they want to be. So don’t be afraid to swallow some pride and play the game a little. You can worry about making good on it later when you’re busting butt to keep that slot.