By Senior Master Sgt. Joshua D. Horton
1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron
The transition from being a structural craftsman to a career development course writer, was an eye-opening experience. I was used to building and maintaining bases, constantly deploying and being on the go.
Deploying was a mainstay of the job I held for almost two decades, but CDC writing meant hanging up my hardhat and adapting to a desk. I was hesitant to make that transition because I thought deskwork was menial and not something I was wired for. I was at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in 2013 when I received the email saying I was going to transfer to Sheppard AFB, Texas. I thought that there had to be a mistake since there were no structures jobs at Sheppard. However, after a quick call to the assignments functional office, I found out that a new structures position had opened at Sheppard and it would be mine, to write CDCs. My first instinct was that this was going to end whatever career I had going. The stigma was CDC writing was a dead-end career move, essentially a position to retire in because there was no opportunity for advancement or growth.
I was wrong; that stigma was wrong. Becoming a CDC writer turned out to be one of the best moves for my career.
I have committed my career to taking any and every opportunity the Air Force has given me. Even though I was nervous about the stigma, I openly embraced the opportunity for a change. When I arrived at Sheppard, I walked into the world of Air Education and Training Command. It was like nothing I was prepared for. The opportunity to directly impact the younger generation of my career field was something I never thought of getting myself into. I had worked alongside them, but had never considered the positive impact CDC writing would have on their careers. I was able to help rewrite courses for the structures field that I knew would impact the careers of every future structures Airman. CDC writing gave me the opportunity to make changes to the courses that had been virtually untouched in almost 10 years.
The CDC job was extremely rewarding. I found fulfillment in directly contributing to the structures career field and new Airmen coming into it. I was able to advocate as a subject matter expert for the courses that were rewritten. CDC writers directly pass on wisdom accumulated over 15-, 16-, 17-, and 18-year careers.
In addition to positively contributing to the careers of others, being at Sheppard helped my career advance as well. The assignment allowed me to interact with senior enlisted civil engineering leaders and learn things from their perspective. They poured their career knowledge into me, helping me grow as a structural craftsman. I also embraced the opportunity to get out and positively contribute and impact the base. Sheppard is not a large base, so the chance to be a part of projects that are visible on a higher level can happen very easily.
In the 2½ years I was at Sheppard, I was able to be a part of projects that greatly impacted the lives of 55,000 trainees a year. The Sheppard community values teamwork, and the CDC writing career enables you to work alongside like-minded peers who value the education side of the U. S. Air Force. Being a CDC writer will give you fulfillment knowing that the CDC volumes you produce and edit will greatly impact the lives of every student, as well as every project he or she will work on throughout a career.