Photo By Senior Airman Nicholas Paczkowski | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Charles Houck, 49th Comptroller Squadron financial...... read more read more
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Children who are subject to constant relocation are typically from a military family, right? This isn’t true for U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Charles Houck and others like him.
From the ages of 6 to 12, Houck was placed into foster care due to unfortunate circumstances. As a result, he moved often—staying in different group homes in several states. From 12 to 15, he was briefly placed back into his father’s custody, which involved relocating, again.
“During my time in foster care and under my dad's custody, I lived in California, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Florida and Pennsylvania and those are just the ones I remember,” said Houck.
Unfortunately, due to unfortunate circumstances, at the age of 15, Houck was placed back into foster care.
Throughout this period of constant moving, Houck was placed in various group homes. Unlike foster homes, group homes typically have a higher level of supervision, with staff working in shifts to maintain order and discipline.
“The caretakers were very similar to military training instructors,” he said. “They worked different shifts around the clock, and you had to be out of your room at a specific time. We even had scorecards like form 341s to track behavior. If we did chores like cleaning, sweeping, or making our bed and we earned enough points, we could go to the game room on the weekends.”
When Houck turned 16, he had searched for ways to get out of the foster care system. One route that appealed to Houck was to join the U.S. Air Force.
To understand what the military was like, he would volunteer to attend a military school in Florida.
The six months he spent there felt like another form of basic military training; however, Houck says he felt accustomed to the structured environment from his time in group homes.
“It was like a boarding school, but you had to volunteer to attend,” he said. “It wasn’t something someone could force you into. It was a mix of military and prep school. Going to this school allowed me to learn about the military and continue my education.”
While at military school, Houck earned his General Educational Development certificate, which allowed him to pursue his goal of joining the U.S. Air Force.
Regardless of how prepared he was, this new chapter would bring its own set of challenges.
“I joined at 17, and at that age, you shouldn’t have any issues with your background,” Houck explained. “But foster care is hard to track, and there were things from my past that didn’t show up in my records. There were details my security manager couldn’t uncover.”
As a result, Houck couldn’t pursue his initial career field choice in the Air Force, but that didn’t stop him from enlisting. Once enlisted, he would be on his way to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, for BMT.
For many enlistees, this is one of the most challenging and stressful experiences of their military career; for Houck, the transition was more manageable.
“Being in a group home for six years and then going to a U.S. Army military school made basic training feel easier by comparison,” he said. “If I could go back and do it again, I would.”
After completing BMT and technical training, Houck arrived at Holloman in 2023. While he didn’t get the job he initially hoped for, he found satisfaction as a financial analysis technician in the finance career field.
“Someone higher up in the Air Force contacted our office saying that from 2018 to 2019, the base had spent billions on IT-related items, and they wanted an audit list of those materials. Despite being brand new at the time, I was tasked with creating that list,” Houck explained. “I had to track down all the details—who it was for, who did it, who the contractor was, and the total cost. It took weeks, but I got it done.”
Due to his hard work and dedication to the mission, Houck was recognized during a biweekly ceremony called "49er of the Week" for his exceptional efforts as an outstanding performer across the base.
As his career progresses, Houck is eager to continue his work and hopes to one day be able to cross-train into his dream career field in the Air Force.
“I love being in the Air Force,” he said. “It’s like a regular job, but I get to wear this uniform and serve a bigger purpose. Regardless of where I’m at, I’ll never complain because I get to travel, meet new people, and learn about their stories.”
| Date Taken: | 12.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.02.2024 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 486425 |
| Location: | HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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