Annette Bonaro:  

Workplace Enlisted in the Air Force 31 Aug 87. After graduation from Basic Training, I went to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver Colorado for technical training in the electronics career field. In the Spring of 1988, I graduated from Technical School and moved on to my first duty assignment at Castle Air Force Base in Merced California. I was assigned to the 93rd Avionics Maintenance Squadron under the Strategic Air Command and later transitioned to the 93rd Intermediate Level Maintenance Squadron under the Air Combat Command. I spent 7 years at Castle as a backshop electronics technician on the B-52 Stratofortress airframe. After a 7-yr tour in CA, I moved to the great white North of Minot, North Dakota and was assigned to the 23rd Bomb Squadron at Minot AFB. I served as Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Bombing and Navigation Field Shop for 3 years, then transitioned to the flightline during my last year there. I also changed career fields. I switched from maintenance to logistics. In Oct 98, I moved back to CA...this time near San Francisco...and was assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing Plans Office at Travis Air Force Base. Three months into my assignment I was picked up for Officer's Training School (OTS). I started OTS in Jul and graduated 3 months later. I was commissioned on 30 Sep as a 2nd Lieutenant. From OTS I moved to Kirtland AFB, in Albuquerque New Mexico and served as the 377th Air Base Wing Installation Deployment Officer. While serving my tour at Kirtland, I became the first tasked to deploy after the Sep 11th terrorist attack. I spent 6 months in Southwest Asia at a little island base off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. Just days after my arrival, I was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. It was the best 6 months of my entire career. I came back to the States in Mar 02 and prepared for yet another move. On to Washington DC and the 11th Wing at Bolling AFB in May 02. A relatively quiet assignment until Feb 04. I became the first of 3 (and first female) Air Force Transportation Officers to venture into unchartered waters. For the first time in history, the Air Force stepped up to a huge challenge in that they volunteered to augment Army operations in Iraq. I deployed to Tikrit, Iraq and served as the 1058th Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF) Transportation Company (TC) commander. A 17 year AF vet...turned Army soldier literally overnight. I met my troops (148 individuals from 25 states, 3 countries and the District of Columbia all coming together for the first time in Kuwait) just a few weeks before moving North into a declared combat zone. My company ran convoy security operations for the 232d Corps Support Battalion. We survived more than 50 hostile enemy attacks on our convoys and installation. By the grace of God, 148 troops came back alive. We returned home on 30 Sep 04. Exactly 1 year after my promotion to Captain. :) I'm currently preparing for my next assignment. I'll move to Ramstein Air Base, Germany and will be assigned to a workcenter under US Air Force Europe (USAFE) headquarters. I'm expected to remain at that assignment for 3 years. After which, I would like to return to the US as a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) instructor somewhere in Colorado...where I plan to retire. ...Expand for more