Diane Ryan:  

Life Since graduation I worked at the Lufkin State School for almost 2 years. I joined the US Navy (USN) on March 25, 1986, as an Air Traffic Controller (AC). The bootcamp was a disappointment:too easy. I went to Millington, TN, (Memphis) for my AC school. My 1st duty station (PCS) was NAS Patuxent River, MD, approx 50mi SSE of Washington D.C. I met my "civilian" husband and had both of my children there. My 2nd PCS (90-93), Corpus Christi, TX. Divorced 1990. My 3rd PCS (FEB 93-MAY 94) was at NAS Adak, AK (Aleutian Islands). My 4th PCS(MAY 94-APR 97) was NAF El Centro, CA...from extreme cold to extreme heat. I remade the "Course Rules Brief" video for aircraft squadrons training in NAS El Centro and received a Navy Achievement Medal (NAM) for it. El Centro is the "winter home" of the US Navy Blue Angels (F-18's & C-130) because of the perfect flying conditions year-round. The BAs perform in airshows accross the USA and sometimes in other countries. It's something to see in person if never before. I came to a career crossroads...I was force-converted to a different rate. The new appointed rate was Cryptology. I graduated as Honor Grad (98.3 GPA). My first assigned CTR duty was Rota, Spain (JUL 98-APR 2001). It was here wher...Expand for more