Lt. Smith

Bob Chamberlain

This is a story about a young man named Bob who graduated from high school in 1969 and enrolled at the local community college. After one year, he realized that he had no direction, and so he joined the Air Force. 

One morning about halfway through basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Bob’s drill sergeant ordered him to report to a Lt. Smith, whose office was about a mile away. 

Bob had no idea why he’d been singled out and ordered to report to Lt. Smith, but during his walk there he imagined the worst. 

Upon his arrival, Bob was led into Lt. Smith’s office, where he was told to have a seat. Lt. Smith asked, “Airman, have you ever considered applying to the Air Force Academy?”

“No, sir,” Bob replied.

“Well, Airman, you scored very well on your aptitude tests. You got the highest possible score on three of the four parts of the exam, and you got the second highest score on the fourth part. How did you do on your SATs?”

“I scored in the top 1% of my class, sir,” Bob answered.

“That’s good,” remarked Lt. Smith.  Based on your test scores and your sergeant’s recommendation, we’d like to send you to the Air Force Academy so you can become an officer. How does that sound?”

“Well, I don’t know,” said Bob. “How much would it cost?”

“It’ll cost a lot, Airman, but you won’t have to pay anything. All your expenses will be paid by the Air Force, and we’ll pay you a nice salary while you’re there. Then, after you graduate you’ll be an officer.”

“How long will it take?” asked Bob.

“The Academy will take four years. After that, you’ll serve six years on active duty as an officer and another four years in the Reserve. Unless you decide to make it a career, in which case it could be 20 years or more.”

You’ve got to understand this to fully appreciate Bob’s situation:  Bob was raised by a father whose goal for his son was to get a job on the General Motors assembly line where he himself worked. Even though Bob was very smart, he was incredibly naïve. He’d been raised to be a laborer and he had very low expectations for himself. Furthermore, Bob’s only knowledge of the military was from the basic training in which he was currently involved. Basic training is supposed to be unpleasant, and that was exactly Bob’s experience. He was already regretting the four year commitment he’d made when he enlisted, and now this guy wants him to sign up for TEN YEARS.

So Bob responded, “No, thanks.”

“OK, then. Report back to your squad.”

And that’s the story of one of the most important things that NEVER HAPPENED in Bob’s life. You see, Bob was very smart, but he was unaware. He didn’t appreciate the value of what he had been offered––an opportunity that could have a powerful, positive impact on his life. So Bob said he wasn’t interested and Lt. Smith said OK. And Bob lost out on something that could have been one of the most valuable and important experiences of his life because Lt. Smith didn’t care enough to encourage him to seize the opportunity.

You’re a smart person, but you may not appreciate the value and the potential impact of what I do. I know because I’ve been doing this for over 30 years and I’ve seen the results.  I know what a powerful positive difference it can make in your life when you have an experienced, trusted financial advisor to help you create and follow a carefully crafted plan to achieve your goals and protect you from hazards, and to enable you to do what’s most important to you––to make the most of your life.