AFMC Command News

Sergeant finds home in Air Force

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Moore
  • 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  When his mother pushed him out of a car traveling 35 mph, the high school junior dusted himself off and immediately started learning the rules of the streets. He began recycling soda cans for income, eating stale doughnuts, dumpster diving for blankets and sleeping on shredded cardboard boxes.

Today, 15 years later, he considers himself the luckiest man in the Air Force.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Short, a public affairs noncommissioned officer with the 368th Recruiting Squadron here, spent a year as a homeless man in San Diego before joining the military -an experience he's not ashamed of because it helped shape an identity he now embraces with pride.

After the altercation with his mother when he was 16, Sergeant Short knew that his troubled family history, coupled with an intense desire for independence, would prevent him from returning home.

Instead, he adopted a vagrant lifestyle and started sleeping behind supermarkets, in stairwells and on top of buildings. He relied on generous shop owners and soup kitchens for meals, but never let his circumstances dampen his spirit.

"Even when I hit rock bottom, I never lost pride in myself," Sergeant Short said. "But even more importantly, I never lost hope in my dreams."

One of those dreams, the desire for an aviation-related career, persisted even when the future looked dismal. The sergeant's love of aviation was sparked years prior by a family friend who worked as a commercial airline pilot.

"This guy had worked his way up from a nothing job to become one of the company's top pilots," Sergeant Short said. "His inspiration definitely played a role in getting my life back on track."

After 13 difficult months on the streets, Sergeant Short decided to visit a local recruiting office. He connected with an Air Force recruiter who directed him to a local continuation school. Sergeant Short immediately enrolled in classes and soon earned his general education development diploma.

With the help of the recruiter, he was soon on his way to Lackland AFB, Texas, for basic military training.

"I will always owe that recruiter a debt of gratitude," Sergeant Short said. "He could've looked at me as nothing because I was living in a storage shed at the time, but instead, he believed I had the potential to be something special."

While in basic training, Sergeant Short moved another step closer to his aviation dream when he was selected for a job as an airborne communication system specialist flying on E-3B Airborne Warning and Control Station aircraft. He was one of only six candidates to complete the rigorous enlisted aircrew undergraduate course.

"I really felt like I was part of something elite at that point," Sergeant Short said.

Over the course of the next six years, he flew AWACS missions to Saudi Arabia, Panama, Turkey, Germany, England, Canada and Norway, as well as "just about every corner of the United States."

But in 1998, life dealt the "comeback kid" another unlucky card.

After suffering from a variety of respiratory symptoms, Sergeant Short was suddenly disqualified from flying status due to a diagnosis of chronic asthma. He was told he had 120 days to pick a new Air Force career.

"I was devastated and didn't want to let go of flying," Sergeant Short said. "I fought with my doctors nonstop before I finally accepted the fact that I couldn't talk my way out of it."

Despite the latest setback, Sergeant Short's trademark resilience resurfaced as he pondered new career possibilities.

"I thought for a little while about going into computer networking or the medical field, but ultimately the jobs didn't excite me," he said.

With time running out to make a decision, Sergeant Short's commander encouraged him to capitalize on a skill set he'd demonstrated through one of his additional duties.

"As the squadron activities director, I'd worked a lot with the local community," he said. "My boss thought it made me a perfect fit for public affairs and he convinced the right people to let me in."

Sergeant Short began applying his public affairs expertise to the recruiting career field almost six years ago. It's a job that funnels his outgoing personality and compelling personal story into a powerful vehicle for reaching young audiences.

"One of the things that keeps me motivated when I'm talking to kids about Air Force careers is the fact that many of them don't have any goals or objectives in mind," he said. "Whether they end up choosing the Air Force or not, I can speak from experience about how important it is to stay focused and goal-oriented in life."

Sergeant Short said the personal conversations with the teenagers who seek him out after a presentation represent one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.

"They'll come up to me and say, 'I know what you mean about feeling like you're on the wrong path,' or, 'you really made me stop and think about what I want from my life," he said. "That kind of feedback always puts two things in perspective - that I'm happy with who I am today, and that I couldn't have gotten here without the difficult times."

This ability to embrace adversity and learn from difficult situations is exactly what makes this once homeless man right at home with the Air Force. His first chief of public affairs, Maj. Susan A. Romano, echoed the sentiment.

"Regardless of what situation he's in - whether personal or professional, he can adapt and overcome a challenge." she said.