My educational journey: CCAF Poster Child Published March 1, 2011 By Retired Master Sgt. John Rady WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Imagine a photo of a smiling couple on a desk. They are smiling because they had just returned from the man's Air Force retirement ceremony. I, John Rady, am the man in that photo. I retired from active duty in Aug. 2001 after spending 23 years in the Air Force as a member of the Security Police/Forces career field. I performed many duties throughout my long career, many of which involved shift work, TDYs and deployments. Like many others, I joined the Air Force fresh out of high school because I really had no interest in attending college. I was briefed on the educational opportunities available to me, but I declined to sign up as I wanted to spend my money on other things. For an 18 year old from a small Wisconsin town, education was the last thing on my list of priorities. Eventually, I did begin to take advantage of the educational benefits and started to work on obtaining my Community College of the Air Force degree. However, it seemed like my efforts were always interrupted by the Air Force mission or other life events. While I was on active duty status, tuition assistance was set at 75 percent, and distance learning options were scarce. Back then, deployment was a major obstacle to completing courses. Completing the courses I did for my CCAF degree was difficult. As the Air Force changed in 2000, so did my desire to continue to remain in the service. I had over 20 years of active service and was eligible for retirement. My fiancé and I discussed it, and I retired in Aug. 2001. Completing my CCAF degree was never a consideration during this decision process. My focus was on the next step in our lives and making the transition to civilian life. Transitioning to civilian life presented several challenges. I naively thought my 23 years of military service, all in the law enforcement arena, would be able to help me to land a job with the law enforcement agencies to which I applied. Was I ever mistaken! Much to my dismay, all of the police agencies I applied to had the same minimum education requirement to meet: an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice, or 60 semester hours of college credit. And I had retired without completing my CCAF degree! I lacked only one course to graduate from CCAF, a general education requirement for English Composition. If only I had completed that course, I would have had my degree and been competitive for the positions in law enforcement that I desired. Unfortunately, I could not go back and finish because all CCAF degree requirements must be completed before separating or retiring. Now, let's go back to that picture on the desk. The woman in it with me is my fiancée, Pamela Fiorito. She is a General Education and Training Specialist at the Wright-Patterson Education and Training Office. One of her primary responsibilities is to advise military members on their education benefits, especially the CCAF degree program. As such, she discusses educational opportunities with hundreds of Airmen. She often points to our picture, relays my story, and encourages Airmen to complete their CCAF degrees. In effect, I have become her "poster child" of what not to do, educationally speaking. Our photo has become a conduit for discussion on the real, tangible value of the CCAF degree. I am not proud of the fact that I did not complete my CCAF degree, but I am proud to be an example so others can learn from my mistake. Airmen need to take advantage of the educational opportunities afforded to them and complete their CCAF degrees. As I discovered too late, you never know what the future may hold, and having that CCAF degree can and will open doors which would otherwise remain closed.