MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- “When I finally found out that I made it, it was so surreal. I worked for so long to get here, and I just couldn’t believe it was finally happening.
“It’s so crazy to think that one day when you wake up, you’re enlisted, and the next day, you find out that you will soon be on the ‘other side’.”
That was U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Royce Macintyre’s, the NCO in charge of the communications focal point assigned to the 6th Communications Squadron, reaction when he found out he was accepted into the Total Forces Officer Training, which will lead to a commission as a second lieutenant.
“When I got to MacDill as a young A1C, a lieutenant told me almost every day, ‘I think you’d be a great candidate for the academy, and I think you should look into it,” said Macintyre. “At the time, it just wasn’t the right move for me.”
Macintyre decided to look into other commissioning programs such as The Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program, the Scholarships for Outstanding Airmen to Reserves Officer’s Training Course program, and the Air Force ROTC.
“I went through the full application process of the ROTC program and found out that I wasn’t even selected,” said Macintyre.
Macintyre, who is originally from Jamestown, New York, didn’t let this hold him back.
“I literally tried every route that you can possibly take for commissioning,” said Macintyre. “I guess I’m that type of person; if there’s something I want, I’m going to try every possible avenue.”
The TFOT application process is extensive, according to Macintyre.
“It’s made that way purposefully,” said Macintyre. “A lot of individuals will say that’s the way they try to weed people out, by creating this difficult process to see if applicants have the mental capacity to be able to follow through with it.”
Commissioning became Macintyre’s goal once he enlisted, but he has also set another goal
Now that Macintyre has been accepted into the commissioning program, he said he plans on taking care of his sister when she graduates.
“She’s 14 years old and to see the things she’s going through right now, it’s not something I want her to be a part of,” said Macintyre. “When she graduates, first thing I’m going to do is have her move in with me, at least while she attends to college. Hopefully she joins the Air Force. I think it’ll be a good start.
“The Air Force provides you an education and a career when you don’t even know what you’re going to do in some cases.”
Macintyre said one of his priorities is that he wants to take care of his people. He said it plays a crucial role in morale and work efficiency and based on what he has seen in his past, there isn’t enough emphasis on that at times.
“When you start gaining an interest in what you do for a living, it’s cool to see how you start leading and picking up on those roles,” said Macintyre. “As far as TFOT goes, I don’t know what to expect, but until I have those bars pinned on, I’m still waking up as a Staff Sergeant.”