DAB to DEN to OKC for ITR and RTF :)

Just a short background here... I'm a CTI graduate from Embry-Riddle in DAB. I graduated in May of 2007 and I couldn't wait to hear from the FAA. I chose PA, MD, and CO for my geographic preferences, and CO was my first choice (if only because I wanted a change of scenery and the ability to go skiing on the weekends). I took the AT-SAT about two weeks after graduating. I found out that I was referred to CO about two weeks after graduating as well, so I was pretty ecstatic. In August I found out that I had been selected for ZDV, and I was glad that I got picked up so quickly. I went to my interview at ZJX and also took my 16PF. However, after giving things a little more thought, I realized that I really didn't want to work enroute, so I turned down ZDV after much debate. I had talked to the people out at OKC and they informed me that there would be a hiring panel meeting for CO again in a few weeks. I called up the manager at D01 (Denver Tracon) and he agreed to request me. I felt confident that things would work out, so I had to decline ZDV quickly to make the next hiring panel. I was referred out to CO again around the end of September, and heard that I'd been selected for D01 in the middle of October. All of my paperwork was submitted on October 31st, and it only took two weeks for me to get offered an OKC class date. They told me that I had to wait for a Tracon only class (which they had only just started offering), so I was given a start date of January 28th.

So anyway, I'm finally in OKC. It's a relief to say the least, but now I can't wait to be done so that I can get started at my facility. I took a week last week to visit CO (drove 28 hours to get there from FL, ugh) to look for places to live and to go skiing. I visited the Tracon and it was pretty cool. They let me plug in and listen to someone work. I just got to OKC last night after driving down from CO. I'm staying in a house with a girl who had a room for rent who I found off of craigslist. I triple-checked with the FAA to find out if I'd still get per diem for it, and they assured me I would as long as I had a lease with specific information as well as receipts.

I'm in an ITR class for 9 classroom days, and then I go straight into RTF class for 18 classroom days. It's a new Tracon schedule that they're still trying to get certified, and I like it because I'm only in OKC for about 5 weeks. Plus, I don't have to go to my facility and then return to OKC for RTF later.

I started class today bright and early at 7am. We work a 0700-1530 shift each day with a half an hour for lunch. I got to MMAC around 0625 or so, which was a good idea for the first day. The line at the gate was a little long, and first I had to check in as a visitor. They didn't have a list on file for our specific class for some reason, so it took just a few extra minutes for them to get the go-ahead to give us our badges. After getting a temporary badge and a visitor's parking pass I had to find the RTF building. I ran into someone else going to D01 and we headed into class together. I think it was about quarter to seven when we got into our classroom. There are a total of 10 students in our class. Ed Hatherley is our course manager and Dave Simpson is our lead instructor. They're both awesome and anyone out there who gets either one is lucky. They're both very friendly and it seems like they're willing to help any one of us out with anything. I think we'll learn a lot from them. They also brought us all coffee, bottled water, donuts, candy, and snacks.

Of the ten of us, there are four OTS people who went through the AT Basics course just before this one (one of which went to part of the CTI program at CCBC), there is one person from Mt. SAC, two from UAA, one from UND, one from Vaughn, and myself from ERAU. We started off the day with introductions, and then had talks from the FAA Credit Union people and the travel office about our travel vouchers. Keep in mind that if you're coming out here for training, you have to wait at least 15 days before submitting your first travel voucher. You're also not likely to get paid until about 2-3 weeks after you start class, just because of the way the pay periods are laid out.

We had a long talk from HR about benefits and had to watch an even longer video. I'd suggest anyone coming to OKC soon go to this website to research your available health plans: http://www.opm.gov/insure/08/spmt/plansearch.aspx Enter in the zip code where you'll be working to see what will be available to you. Compare everything you can and choose the plan that works best for you. Don't forget about dental and vision coverage if you need it. It's not too expensive and it may be good for you to have. Once you get out here, you have 30-60 days to enroll in health plans (depending on which part of the plan, etc.), and it can be a little overwhelming if you haven't researched it ahead of time. Once you submit the paperwork, your health insurance goes into effect during the next pay period after you submit it. You may also want to look at http://tsp.gov/ You can elect to put a certain amount of money into a TSP and the government will match up to a certain amount. You really can't afford not to do it.

Anyway, we also got sworn in today and received our ID badges. Then we watched a long video on the EEOC and sexual harassment, as well as the No Fear Act. Boring stuff, but it had to be done. We had some extra time at the end of the day, so our instructors showed us the radar labs which was pretty cool. I can't wait to get started in there.

That's it for the first day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more interesting!