My education journey: SFS Airman battles darkness to finish education Published June 8, 2009 By Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Editor's note: This article is the first in a seven-part series highlighting the journey of Edwards Airmen in completing their Community College of the Air Force degrees. Part two of the series is scheduled for publication July 10. As Edwards goes to "ghost town" mode after duty hours, threading the base's 24-hour operation at night are the shift workers. While everyone is asleep, these Airmen are awake to continue the base's mission. For one Airman, performing her mission while other people's eyes are closed didn't deter her to accomplish one of her goals in life -- continuing her education. Senior Airman Janelle Aron is a 95th Security Forces Squadron Bravo Flight alarm monitor, whose 12-hour duty starts at 5 p.m. Her job is to monitor base facility security systems and inform the Security Forces desk sergeant of any intrusions or issues that would trigger the alarm. This way, they can dispatch patrols and ensure areas are secure. "We have to make sure right away that all resources are protected," Airman Aron said. "The only people who are watching the base buildings are the (alarm monitors), so we are responsible for everything on base." Even with the difficulties of working from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., also known as Panama schedule, Airman Aron still worked hard to try to complete her Community College of the Air Force degree as well as her bachelor's degree in political science. For her CCAF degree, she only needs to finish her math requirement. Working night shift is what Edwards enlisted leadership found to be one of the reasons why Airmen haven't completed their CCAF degrees. "There are so many different ways to get your degree," said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Brejcha, 412th Test Wing command chief. "If you are determined to get it done, it doesn't matter what schedule you have. It's kind of a rhythm. I call it the educational battle rhythm." One of the most common ways to battle the educational problems of working shifts is taking online courses. Airmen can take courses, study and take the tests at their leisure, and it is available 24/7. Though her actually shift starts at 5 p.m., Airman Aron comes in at 3:45 p.m. to check her online courses at the 95th SFS Learning Resource Center. The resource center is available 24/7 for Security Forces personnel, especially for Airmen who, like Airman Aron, work shifts. "I make it a point that if I know I have homework and I am not able to do it during my shift, I just prioritize what I need to get done," the Airman said. Prior to and after work, Airman Aron tries to accomplish her homework as soon as possible. When work is not busy, she finds time to work on her studies. Sometimes, sleep takes the back seat during the day as she finishes her assignments. "To me, (education) is a higher priority than sleep," she said. "I try not to procrastinate too much because the due date will jump back at you, and you're like 'wow!'" And ever since the beginning of Airman Aron's CCAF journey, working night shifts since arriving at Edwards didn't hinder her studies, even when she was deployed to Al Dahfra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, for six months in 2007. In fact, she actually enrolled in some courses and completed about 10 to 12 semester hours there. She also participated in some College Level Examination Programs. As soon as she received her five-level for her Air Force Specialty Code, Airman Aron went to the base Education Center to talk about her educational plans and how she would be able to accomplish them. "You just research and plan out what you want to do and how you want to go about with these things," she said. "It's important to figure out what you want." Through the "2009 Year of the CCAF" initiative, enlisted leaders aim to persuade Airmen to pursue their degrees -- regardless of work schedule. The initiative is a professional development of Edwards Airmen. "Here we have a fabulous opportunity to embrace education in a grander scale because our schedule, for the most part, permits us to do that," said Chief Brejcha, who holds associate's degrees in heating and air conditioning and in personnel administration, and currently, working on his Bachelor of science in History. "At Edwards, we don't want our Airmen to be complacent with education, and our leadership team is committed to not let that happen." Base top enlisted Airmen took the lead to provide an avenue for Airmen to have counseling regarding education through the initiative. "Education is extremely important," the chief said. "We're becoming more technical. Take a look at the aircraft, such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It's going to require our Airmen to be extremely intelligent and at the top of their game. Education does that." The biggest part of the initiative is to restore face-to-face contact, which has been lost through various reasons. Back in the day, Airmen used to have career advisors who talked about benefits, career progression, promotion and family. "We want to be able to look somebody in the eyes and say 'what doess your future look like here and where does education lie in that?' and then get a plan,'" Chief Brejcha said. Since the beginning, Airman Aron already had a plan. As soon as she receives her bachelors, she will begin her master's degree in political science, attend law school and hopefully, complete her Juris Doctorate with emphasis on international relations and comparative political systems. "I have it figured out because if you don't, you might wander around the path a little bit," Airman Aron said.