Grant Gallagher was making a decent living working sheet metal, but he began to wonder where it might lead over a lifetime. Then one of his coworkers told him about his son who had joined the Air Force and was a remote pilot. That’s when the light bulb went off for Gallagher.

They started as pen pals. Ryan and Alexa Neville began exchanging letters while Ryan was deployed to Iraq with Alexa’s brother-in-law Caleb.

Staff Sgt. Kamyla Felder took a roundabout path to get to where she is now. After spending two years at Emory University in Atlanta studying international relations and Arabic, she decided she wanted something else.

MSgt Tracy Bennett has had four jobs in her 21 year career in the Air Force. Beginning in medical administration, Bennett also worked in personnel and manpower. Her career has taken her all over the world including Texas, Korea, Florida and Hawaii. Now back in Florida, Bennett has completed her fourth mini-career in the Air Force. This was her last week after four years as a first sergeant.

On the eight-hour drive home from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska, Julie and Kelly Kessler made a decision.

Staff Sgt. Richard Hunter found himself in the midst of chaos in Afghanistan last November. He and the U.S. Army Special Forces team he was embedded with were ambushed by insurgents as they entered a village in Kunduz province.

Hurlburt Field -  Anybody new to Hurlburt Field is likely to notice a different atmosphere around base: the different uniforms, Air Commandos with different colored berets and even civil engineer Airmen with red baseball caps.

Eglin Air Force Base - The U.S. Air Force trained and graduated the 500th F-35 Lightning II pilot across the joint and international enterprise Sept. 19, here.

Hurlburt Field - 27 years of service. 13 assignments. Countless deployments with joint special operations units and even a stint at Harvard University.