TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- “I had no idea how daunting it would become.” This was the surprising realization 2nd Lt. Ryan Cheney came to after he started his journey toward Officer Training School selection.
His decision to become an officer came about two years ago. At the time he was known as Master Sgt. Cheney, a Combat Arms Training and Maintenance Instructor with the 507th Security Forces Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
After reaching the rank of master sergeant in just five years of Air Force Reserve duty, he found himself at a career crossroads wondering what the future would hold for him. Career decision making wasn’t a new concept for him. He had previously served four years active duty and took a two year break in service before going back into the reserve in 2010.
“One thing I did know is that I love being in the Air Force and I wanted to stay in Security Forces,” said Cheney “I needed to decide what path was right for me. Did I want to go the path of becoming a chief, or was I looking for something else?”
That “something else” presented itself in the form of an instant message from his commander Maj. Patrick Mitchell.
“In 2014, after a UTA weekend, my commander contacted me and asked if I’d ever given any thought to becoming an officer,” said Cheney. “This was a big coincidence since my wife and I had just been discussing the idea of me going back to school to finish getting my bachelor's degree.”
For the next two years, Cheney turned his focus and energy on completing college courses, all the while balancing the roles and responsibilities of a father and husband, as well as preparing for the OTS board. In short order, he completed his Associates Degree in Enterprise Development on top of a Community College of the Air Force degree in Criminal Justice, and a Bachelors in General Studies with a Minor in Business Administration. All this hard work, hours spent with his nose buried in books, sacrificing family time and giving up all his personal free time with one goal in mind, the hope of just getting a package to the eyes of a review board and winning their nod of approval.
“It was killer” said Cheney. “I was taking 14-16 semester hours at the University of Central Oklahoma, working full-time as a civilian on Tinker, NCOIC of Combat Arms in the Reserve, while still keeping up with being a husband and a step-dad. I did that for three semesters, plus fall and summer classes. It was the craziest year and a half of my life.”
In the end, all that hard work would pay off. He finally had his bachelors, and the time had come to put everything in motion with a little help and guidance from his mentor.
“When I started the OTS process, I had no idea how daunting it would become. Fortunately for me, Maj. Mitchell, who was at the time commander of the 507th Security Forces Squadron, became my mentor and really helped me along the way.” he said. “A lot of people may know of the OTS selection process in the Reserve, but very few people know how the process actually works. It’s a bit of a mystery.”
Mysterious as this process may be, it worked, and eventually landed him in front of a six-person panel of field grade officers and a command chief. He remembers how uncomfortable he felt, having to think on his feet, voicing answers to what seemed like a series of rapid fire questions.
“The board was a little intimidating, but it’s meant to be,” he said. “They ask a lot of three- part questions focused on the Air Force, yourself and leadership.”
His answers were good enough to satisfy the panel of wing leaders, and he was off to Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He found upon arrival that it echoed with familiar tones from some of his past training.
“To a prior service senior noncommissioned officer OTS was a blend of Basic Military Training, Airman Leadership School and the Noncommissioned Officer Academy,” said Cheney. “Our class was about a 50/50 blend of priors and non priors. It was very interesting to see how the OTS environment affected the different cadets,” he said. “The first couple of weeks you just don’t sleep much, but then it starts to transition to less BMT and more of a leadership school.”
For those nine and a half weeks of OTS he would push himself. Lack of sleep didn’t slow him down. He fought off the distraction of homesickness, ignored physical and mental fatigue, and excelled in his studies. On graduation day he was awarded the distinguished graduate award and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.
Cheney will soon spend more than four months away from home and family. Time he wouldn’t have had to give up if he had stayed enlisted, but he is passionate about what he could accomplish as an officer and says won’t second guess the path he has chosen.
“I have no regrets.” said Cheney. “The officer life isn't all that different from the SNCO side of the house, just some different rules to play by, and at the end of the day I'm still just another member of the Air Force team.”