I went into the Air Force in early 2001. Then September 11th happened. I was AFSOC, Air Force Special Operations Command, and I came out in June 2012 as a Staff Sergeant.
I was a Fuels Specialist. My job was making sure jet fuel got where it needed to go, when it needed to be there. Eight and a half years in Okinawa. Deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The flight line
Sounds simple until you're standing on a flight line at 2 AM with a MedEvac bird full of wounded soldiers and Marines, and your supervisor is telling you that you can't fuel it.
My troops looked at me. I looked at the aircraft full of people whose lives hung in the balance.
We fueled the bird. We got awards. The commander's message was simple: "Rules exist to support the mission, not the other way around."
The service does not teach you to be brave. It teaches you systems. It teaches you what holds when everything is on fire and what folds the second somebody gets tired. A plan is only worth the weakest hand that has to run it at three in the morning.
100%, permanent and total
I'm a disabled Air Force veteran. The body files paperwork with me every morning whether I want it to or not.
I went from zero to a hundred percent, permanent and total, in about a year. Self-represented. No law firm taking a third of back pay I'd already earned. I'd signed with one at the start, heard nothing for months, and by the time they called to "talk about my case" I was already most of the way there on my own filings. I revoked the power of attorney and finished the climb alone.
Every move I made is written down in the VA playbook: ten lessons, a combined-rating calculator, the official links. Free because it should've been free the first time.
After the Air Force
I stayed close to fuel for a while, coordinating military fueling projects for Pond & Company and Weston Solutions. Then web hosting support at GoDaddy and A2 Hosting. Then four and a half years writing the operating procedures for Google's data centers, through Signature Consultants and CBRE. The resume has the details.
When I was in the Air Force, somebody would tell me a task was impossible about once a week. I'd tell them the same thing every time. If you can't go around it, over it, or under it, you've got one option left. Through.
Now
I started joeforrest.com in 2012, the year I got out. It morphed into a lot of different projects, of varying success. What came out the other end: I write and publish. I run the Niche of One network, a newsletter, fiction under a few names, and GZS Radio, out of Middle Tennessee. I don't have a staff. I have a disability rating and a mean streak.
The service gave me the spine. Everything since has been figuring out what to hang on it.
If you're a vet stuck in the claims process, start with lesson one. If you want to talk, write to me.