"Everything Does Happen For A Reason"
Kyle Causey fulfilled a lifelong
dream November 20 when he left Massachusetts for Texas to attend
Air Force Basic Military Training. It took him more than six years,
and he had to defeat cancer to reach this milestone.
The former Hanscom Air Force Base pool lifeguard had always
dreamed of following his father's example by serving in the armed
forces. His father, John Causey, a former Army soldier, now works
at Hanscom as a contractor for 66th Medical Support Squadron.
Now an airman basic at Lackland Air Force Base, TX, Kyle said
his father encouraged him consider the Air Force because of the
high quality of life the service offers members. He is "the biggest
Air Force advocate there is," Causey said of his father.
During his senior year in high school, everything seemed to be
all systems go for Causey. He met with an Air Force recruiter and
was set to leave for basic training shortly after graduation. Then
a week before his departure date, he learned he had been
permanently disqualified from all military service.
Two years earlier, Causey had a tumor removed from his abdomen.
The tumor turned out to be cancerous, and Causey underwent another
surgery so doctors could ensure they had removed the cancer
entirely. Despite the surgery's complete success, he was
disqualified from the service and lifestyle he had always dreamed
about.
"That pretty much crushed those dreams," Causey said.
He changed plans and enrolled in the criminal justice program at
Fitchburg Stage College. "I decided that since I couldn't do what I
had always hoped to do, to go to college," he said.
His dreams of serving in the military, however, persisted. While
attending college, he learned that he could apply for a waiver to
enter the service since he had been cancer-free for more than four
years.
Applications for waivers required documentation that he had no
reoccurrence of cancer, and an OK by the Air Force surgeon general.
After getting approval to join, he received a call with the news
that he would be allowed to serve in the Air Force at last. "That
was a great phone call," he said of learning from his recruiter
that his waiver had been accepted in January.
He has since been on delayed-entry status for his chosen career
field, air traffic control.
Causey said he has had a taste of Air Force camaraderie by
working at Hanscom for the past five years and by playing
intramural sports. He has been an "asset to the base pool," said
Stephanie Herlihy, the 66th Services Squadron aquatics director.
Causey saved two lives while on lifeguard duty at the pool.
"He was always reliable and someone for the staff to look up
to," she said. "Kyle always went above and beyond, increasingly
taking on additional responsibility. It is a great loss to the
Hanscom community and a tremendous gain to the Air Force."
Causey said that joining the military family, as he has wanted
to do for so long, will be very special to him. "That first day I
get my uniform issued is going to be touching for me," he said.
Though his journey to becoming an airman has spanned years,
Causey said he felt there was a reason for it.
"I feel maybe the reason why I was (disqualified) in the first
place was so I could get a college education," he said. "I was the
first person in my family to go to college. After that was
completed, I found out that I could still make this dream come
true. I am very thankful for everything that has happened."
One goal Causey said he hopes to attain one day is to become an
Air Force officer, but added that he will be happy to serve
regardless of his rank.
"As long as you stay strong as a person, everything that you
want to come true will come true," he said. "As much as everybody
says it and people don't like hearing it, everything does happen
for a reason."
(Aero-News salutes 1st Lt. Lisa Spilinek, USAF, 66th Air
Base Wing Public Affairs)