Taking Flight: Departure by Donna Faye

Author:Donna Faye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military, betrayal, military humor, military men, woman strong, chicklit humor, military heros, female growth, girlpower, military women

The following day Stella participated in the Graduation Parade, where the trainees reaffirmed their Oath of Enlistment on the parade grounds. The size of the grounds and the huge variety of aircraft on exhibit surrounding the field instilled awe – it was unfathomable that she was part of something so enormous and important.

Blood pounded in her ears, almost as loudly as the percussion of the marching feet surrounding her, and the bass drum of the band playing at the end of the field. And that was all she could hear in the vast space, other than the brief bellows of her TI as he directed them.

The number of attendees was staggering – both graduates on field, and their families who watched from the stands. After the pomp and circumstance of flights marching to present themselves to the leadership, they repeated after their TI, one final time. Stella’s heart pounded in her chest and tears stabbed at her eyes as she raised her right arm and affirmed her Oath of Enlistment.

“I, Stella di Imbrogliado, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

Holy crap! She did it! She was finally an airman.

…

Afterward, Stella joined George, Nina, Tommy, and Max as they walked around the path surrounding the parade grounds. They took in all the types aircraft displayed, and simply enjoyed the warm spring morning as they strolled toward Stella’s dormitory. Max and Tommy ate up her stories about the various characters from her flight, and delighted in her tales of the culture shock she’d experienced.

“Hey, guys, we get to have an open house if you want to see where I lived these last two months,” Stella said as she led them toward the dorm.

Stepping back into the barracks with her family made the place seem tiny, especially with everyone else’s family members crowding the space. It felt silly to show her bunk area to them, but George and Nina ate it all up. Apparently, a lot had changed since Audrey had graduated, so they asked questions about BEAST Week and other activities and marveled at all the differences.

When they spoke with her TI, nervous anticipation zinged through her. She was worse than a little girl at her parent-teacher conferences – not that Calista had ever actually attended anything like that for her. Stella shook off her negative thoughts and embraced the moment.

She giggled as the boys chatted up a couple of cuties from her flight. Her brothers were so handsome, smart and funny – heartbreakers in the truest sense because they had a lot more growing up to do before they could even think of settling down.

After they took

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.