As the run-out date drew near, emotions ran high among the pioneer technicians. We had been through everything together—the setup, the training, the pressure, the pride. Now we faced a future that was suddenly open, uncertain, full of possibility.
Discussions buzzed in the cafeteria, the workshop, the moments between tasks. Plans and options. What we wanted to do when we finally regained our civilian status. Some opted to recontract with the Air Force. They had risen to senior ranks, earned comfortable salaries, built lives within the service. Another six years meant stability, familiarity, and job security.
Others considered doing something completely different. Anything but engineering. Sales had appeal—more interaction with people, and less time hunched over circuit boards. Insurance promised commissions, flexibility, a clean break from the technical world. A few adventurous ones intended to start their own businesses. Small shops, trading companies, ventures that would let them be their own bosses.
And me?
I decided to stick with electronics. It wasn't a difficult decision. It wasn't really a decision at all—more of a recognition, an acceptance of something that had always been true. Electronics runs in my blood. Still does. I couldn't think of doing anything else.
My transition from the air force to ST Electronics, a homegrown defense industry, felt like divine appointment. It started with a late night phone call out of the blue, two months before my contract expired. The timing couldn't be more perfect.
It was later that I learned the RSAF had purchased two RADCOM systems. One, as I knew well, was in our squadron, used for daily operations. The other had been acquired by ST Electronics, for a different purpose: future local support.
ST Electronics had the contract. They had the equipment. They had engineers eager to do the work. But they lacked something essential: hands-on experience with the RADCOM. Real experience, the kind you can only get by operating the system day after day, troubleshooting real faults, learning its quirks and capabilities.
They needed someone with that expertise, and I was the man of their choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment