Yslas shares Air Force journey for Memorial Day

CRESCO - Once again Memorial Day is upon us . . . a time for honoring men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day, became an official federal holiday in 1971 but this year the Times Plain Dealer will honor and talk with a living service member, who dedicated and served this great country, the United States, for 26 years and 25 days. Her name is Lucinda (Cindy) M. (Brookins) Yslas.

 

 The Seed is Planted, the Journey Begins

For Yslas, the consideration for joining the service began before she even knew she was considering it. The seed was planted when Yslas, then Brookins, was dating a boy from Waucoma while attending high school.

That boy was  visiting a Marine recruiter, and Yslas happened to go with him. A few years later, in college, Yslas, found herself running out of money. She had never forgotten what the recruiter has said on that initial visit with her boyfriend.

“I went to visit an Air Force recruiter in Des Moines,” said Yslas. “I was a recruiter’s dream . . . a college student, healthy and all the other things they were looking for. I took a delayed enlistment. Six months later, I was at basic training. That was January 1988. The Air Force attracted me because it is not as intense as the others. There is more focus on intentions, quality of life, and education. The mission is different.”

 

Those 26 years, 25 days

• January 1988: The Crestwood graduate first went to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for six weeks of basic training. When basic was completed, she was moved to Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., where she began training for a tech job.

• 1988-95: Yslas called Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, her home for the next seven years. There she served as an information manager, or “paper pusher” as she said.

“I started in information technology before computers,” she explained. “I used a Selectric typewriter and carbon paper.”

That moved to records management and publications and forms.

“I was responsible for the creation, update and distribution of publications and forms,” said Yslas. “Then came computers, and we were now the experts on computers. This was the early 1990s. In 1990, we had Desert Storm, Shock and Awe. This gave us direction in where we were headed in the military. That same year, I had my daughter, and I watched it play out on TV. My work evolved, and I was now a computer technician, and I stayed on the administrative side of electronic records management.”

• 1995-98: For three years, Yslas worked as a recruiter in Alexandria, Minn. She shared  this was not her favorite job. She was in competition with post-secondary schools for the young people, and it was just as much what “you didn’t say or share, as what you did.”

• 1998-2000: Yslas spent the next few years at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

“At this point I was in administration, but worked at the Airman Leadership School,” she said. “The fun part was they let me teach the ‘non-teachable lessons.’”

• 2001: The Protivin native found herself stationed in Korea. The country where she met and later married Mike Yslas. This is also where she worked in administration under the 7th Air Force Commander, working for part of his executive staff.

“The best part of my assignment here was working for the E9, Command Chief for 7th Air Force on the base.”

It was here a new decision was to be made by the newly wed couple. She was assigned to Germany, and he was assigned to California. The Command Chief offered to make a phone call. Mike had two daughters in California, so, California it was, for both of them.

• 2001-2004: While in California, Yslas worked for the 15th Air Force Commander, as part of the Executive Staff. Mike worked in finance.

• 2004-2008: At this point she decided to cross-train . . .  going into Professional Military Education. She became an instructor.

Assigned to Peterson Air Force Base, she worked in a non-commission Air Force Academy, where she taught a six-week course that included military science, history, leadership and other areas.

• 2008-2010: In 2008, Yslas was back to Korea for a year, doing some teaching and administration work. She finished the Masters she had been working on and worked for the Wing & Group Commander as part of his executive staff.

• 2010-2014: In 2010, the Yslas family headed back to the States and were stationed in Colorado.

“It was here we adopted Cayden, Mike’s oldest daughter’s first child,” Cindy said. “He had been with us since he was two months old and we adopted him at age three.”

Yslas was working for the 55th Wing Commander, Air Force Space Command, AFSPC.

Yslas retired in December 2013.

“The only person missing was my dad,” she said softly. “He passed away in October. He was my biggest supporter and cheerleader while I was in the military. A flag flown over Afghanistan was ready to present to my parents at my retirement party but dad was missing.”

Her last official day was in February 2014.

With plans to retire in Colorado, life took a strange twist.

“Something told me to come home,” Cindy smiled. “My life had always ran at such a fast pace, and home in Iowa meant a slower pace; a most welcome change of pace. For 26 years, the military came first. Now I do things I want to do. Before, I didn’t have the luxury to say ‘no.’”

 

Highlights, Lowlights

A highlight for Yslas was the opportunity to see different presidents as they came in on Air Force One. She was lucky. She was positioned to have that opportunity during her service. Another highlight was traveling to other countries and sharing that experience with members of the military.

Lowlight, albeit only a few years, was those years working in the recruitment field. Recruitment is based on quotas and they were a challenge. The expectations of a recruiter run very high.

 

World Traveler

Part of the attraction for millions contemplating joining the military is the allure of the not-so-subtle promise that if a person joins the military, he or she will be able to see the world.

For Yslas, that was true. She has been to Cairo, Egypt, Kandahar Air Force Base in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Germany and Russia, as well as the countries she was stationed at.

 

Things aren’t so different now/well kind of, sort of

“Not a lot has changed in the military,” said Yslas. “Although one of the things that does change takes place with a new Commander-In-Chief. We now have the Trump Administration. The biggest challenge is that with each new president there is a new direction. There are changes and decisions. I have friends still in the military so I wonder what those changes will mean to them.”

Another change shared by Yslas was that of a general move of the military to put more emphasis on education.

“Now there are education tents everywhere,” she observed. “The Department of Defense is trying to make school accessible, even at remote sites. On the flip side, the Air Force is doing more deployment, moving us closer to the fight than ever before.”

 

Today

Today, Yslas and her family live a much quieter life than those 26 years and 25 days she served in the military. She spends time with her children and husband, volunteers in the community, works in the church, where she also worships, and teaches for the NICC Small Business Development . . .  teaching the same type of classes she did when she was in active service.

Yslas remains a strong supporter of serving her country.

“The service gives you a sense of yourself,” she explained. “You are an individual, and while in the military, you are given a chance to decide on how you are going to be on your own. You are giving back to your community, and you have the chance to immediately make a difference. You are part of the military that is protecting the United States and every job is important, whether you are making coffee or you are a doctor. I am 48 and have half my life left.”

Memorial Day is a time to honor those who sacrificed all for their country. Americans honor  fallen brothers and sisters and the stories of their service. It is at this time, the public can also thank and recognize those heroes whom walk among us. Those who have made sacrifices most of us do not understand. Thank you, Lucinda (Cindy) M. (Brookins) Yslas. Thank you for your service to the United States of America and the communities you serve.