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An up close and personal interview with U.S. Air Force Veteran and Togetherweserved.com Member:
SSgt Haile Nkrumah Gault US Air Force (1980-1988)
WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MILITARY?
 My older brother, TSgt Willie Lofton, had been in the Air Force for 11 years when I contemplated joining. First I considered the Marines. I had a Marine recruiter come out to the house in 1979 when my parents were not home. It was the first time I saw a VCR. He popped in a tape to show me the Marines' boot camp. I was impressed, but when my parents found out about it they had a fit. So then I decided upon the Air Force.
My parents were more sedate about that because Willie was in there. A number of my high school mates were signing up for the delayed-entry program, so I did too. We went on a field-trip to Grifiss AFB, NY. I liked what I saw and that cemented my decision.
BRIEFLY, WHAT WAS YOUR SERVICE CAREER PATH?
 Dates of rank:
E-1: August 29, 1980
E-2: February 28, 1981
E-3: August 29, 1981
Below-the-Zone
E-4 SrA: June 1, 1983
E-4 Sgt: June 1, 1984
E-5: July 1, 1987
HD: March 30, 1988
Duty stations:
Lackland AFB, TX: August 29, 1980 - October 15, 1980
Sheppard AFB, TX: October 15, 1980 - March 24, 1981
Chanute AFB, IL: April 4, 1981 - December 18, 1981
Minot AFB, ND: January 7, 1982 - May 31, 1983
Clark AB, Philippines: June 30, 1983 - June 25, 1985
** TDY Yakota AB, Japan: April 1984
** TDY Charlotte AFB, NC: May 1984
** TDY Kadena AB, Okinawa: May 1985
** TDY Minot AFB, ND: May 1985
USAFA, CO: July 15, 1985 - March 30, 1988
I worked in the medical laboratory field the entire time after basic training.
WHICH, OF THE DUTY STATIONS OR LOCATIONS YOU WERE ASSIGNED OR DEPLOYED TO, DO YOU HAVE THE FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY?
I loved my assignment at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. While there I was a participant in the United States Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest with my vocal group, Magic Touch, (SSgt Levi Walls III, SSgt Sterling Kennedy, Sgt Daryl Farrell, and myself). I have maintained enduring friendships with  a couple of airmen from there. I also gained incredible experience as the supervisor of the blood donor program for a year. Clark Air Base was also where I was introduced to amateur powerlifting. I was a member of the Clark Air Base Powerhouse Powerlifting team. SSgt Ray Long was the coach extraordinaire. Good times!
The United States Air Force Academy was a great assignment as well. I fell in love with Colorado Springs and met some good people there. It was a unique assignment because though I was regular military, I got to work with and become friends with many cadets. For a time I was the sole lab technician in the Cadet Clinic. It was a very rewarding experience. This was also where I was stationed when I, for the first time, actually made it to the finals of the United States Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest as a member of a duet with Sgt Tonya Collins. We placed second and received the Wilco trophy.
FROM YOUR ENTIRE SERVICE CAREER WHAT PARTICULAR MEMORY STANDS OUT?
When I was stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines there was a red-headed airman named Jeff who lived in the room across the hall from me in our barracks. We weren't what you'd call 'friends' really. We didn't hang out together. Mostly we said "hi" and "bye" whenever  we saw one another. He was a cool dude and all. We just didn't click as buddies I guess.
Anyway, I remember well that he was taking pilot lessons at the Aero Club on base in his off-duty time. He was all into it. Everyone who lived in my barracks was a medic of some sort, so it was a big deal that he was taking flying lessons. I didn't think much about it though, because I didn't talk to Jeff that much.
Then one day when I was sleeping on my day off from duty someone banged on my door - bam-bam-bam! I got up and opened it - it was Jeff. He was all excited because he had just passed his flying exam and received his license. He was bouncing off the walls! I congratulated him and he hugged me! Then he told me that he wanted me to go up in a 2-seater plane with him on his very first flight without an instructor.
I was like, "WHAT??" "You want me to go up in a plane with you and you've never flown alone before??" He was like, "Yea!! C'mon Haile, it'll be fun! C'mon! Please? Pretty please?"
I couldn't say "no" to this guy. I could NOT believe it, I was gonna do it! Everything inside me said DON'T, but he was so excited and the smile on his face was so big that I couldn't say no. So we went.
He drove us to the air field where the Aero Club was located. I saw the plane; this prop jobber! It was tiny! He went inside the club to sign in and all that. Then I stood there as he inspected the plane and went through all his checks to make sure it was in working order. He could have gone up alone but he was thrilled that I was going up with him. I was excited too, but I was scared at the same time! I could not believe I let him talk me into this.
 Then Jeff said, "Jump in, Haile! Let's fly!!" The two of us just could fit in the thing. It was cramped. I said something like, "Jeff, I sure hope you know what you're doing!" He just looked at me and laughed. I thought to myself, "I'm in trouble!"
He started it up; the propeller slowly gaining speed until it was in full rotation speed. Up we went. The doggone thing had an engine that sounded like it would stall out at any second. I was nervous but he was in heaven! After we got going awhile it was nice. We were flying over rice patties and little villages. The sight from above was beautiful!
Jeff asked me if I wanted to fly over to Mt Arayat. I said definitely yes! I saw that volcano out my window everyday that I was there. What a sight it was. Now to see it up close? Oh man, let's go!
Here's the funny part ... When we got over the cone of the volcano it was an awesome sight! The volcano had been dormant for so long that there were trees growing down in it. A forest! I was blown away! Then Jeff said, "Let me show you something I learned while taking classes ..." And right then he STALLED THE ENGINE!!!!!
This idiot stalled the engine, I said!! The engine went OFF and the plane began to descend toward the inside of the volcano! I started screaming like a little girl! Jeff started the engine back up again but it sounded like it wouldn't start. My heart was in my throat! I was hollering, "Jeff! Jeff!" Then the engine started.
Jeff laughed and laughed and laughed!
I'm glad someone thought it was funny because I thought we were sho-nuff dead! If we had fallen into the volcano we would have never been found. Jeff kept looking at me and he just cracked up! "Haile it's OK! I wasn't gonna let nothin' happen to you!" And he cracked up some more!
I was like, "Dammit, just get my butt back on the ground, now! NOW!" He said, "OK, we're going back." And we flew back to the air field, but only because the daily monsoon was coming. Otherwise I think he would have just kept flying just to see what my reaction would be.
This is an extremely fond memory for me! The sight of the volcano from the sky is permanently etched in my mind. Jeff's attitude toward the journey was intoxicating! Here I thought he didn't even know I existed (because at that age that's how some people make you feel) and he sought me out to go on his first flight with him.
Some episodes in life are so spectacular that they are too unreal to contemplate or believe! But I was there!
OF THE MEDALS, AWARDS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES OR DEVICES YOU RECEIVED, WHAT IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY?
 The award I am most proud of having received was my Below-the-Zone promotion to Senior Airman. In the early 1980's it took forever to be promoted to the rank of Senior Airman (E-4) from Airman 1st Class (E-3). The wait was about 28-30 months. So when my chance came to go before the board to compete I jumped at it. I was in the waning days of my assignment at Minot AFB, North Dakota. I was going home for 30 days of leave and then on my way to Clark Air Base, Philippines.
I was notified about three days before I left Minot that I was selected to put on Senior Airman on June 1, 1983. I left Minot on May 31st, so I didn't even have my new rank on my sleeve for almost the entire month of June. When I boarded the Flying Tigers for the Philippines I had the three stripes (dark blue/no star) insignia on my arm. That was a proud day.
Below-the-Zone
WHICH INDIVIDUAL PERSON FROM YOUR SERVICE STANDS OUT AS THE ONE WHO HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?
My buddy Jon. He is a friend I met in 1983. We were airmen stationed at Minot AFB, North Dakota. I had been there for an entire year already when he showed up on the scene. Jon was (and is) truly a character! Irrepressible! Devilish! Naughty! Spontaneous! Foul-mouthed! I never  thought he and I would have become friends. We were different in every way! He grew up in southern California. Dude was unkempt and carefree. He owned about three pairs of pants (2 jeans, 1 corduroy) and about three knit shirts. He saw no need for underwear or socks or shoes. He would sometimes wear socks in the winter, and sneakers sufficed for shoes. He smoked cigarettes, drank competitors under the table, excelled at any sport he tried for the first time, was clueless when it came to politics, religion, or any type of 'conformity.' Jon was a whole trip. I saw him talk his way out of a ticket for driving his motorcycle at 132 mph with no license!! If you were his friend he became intensely loyal. And man was he ever "God's gift" to women.
Before he met me he had never really had a black friend. One thing about the military, it does expose you to people from all races and cultures in a hurry. In basic training there were, of course, blacks in his flight. But I guess he never made friends with any of them. So when Jonathan met me I guess he felt, "no time like the present." Granted, there were not many blacks to choose from in Minot, ND. Yet one day while shooting pool in the barracks day room, in walks this new guy fresh out of boot camp and tech school. Kind of loud, already popular, nasty mouth ... I'm thinking, "All right, cool. Just stay away from me." He walks up to me and gladly introduces himself; shakes my hand. "Haile?" (pronounced 'Highly') "F...! Cool name!" Dude, please! That was my first impression. After that I'd see him in the barracks or in the Air Force hospital where we worked. He always struck up a conversation. I kicked it with him, but I just couldn't see being friends with him. We had nothing in common. He went out drinking at night. He listened to hard rock music. Just too wild for me.
But he grew on me. His room was directly upstairs from mine. When he could hear that I was up he'd come downstairs and knock on my door. Sometimes I wouldn't answer but it was obvious I was in. You can't hide in a barracks. The day room was directly across the hall from my room. So sometimes he'd sit in there to wait for me to come out. I had to go to the bathroom sometime. "Yo Haile, what's doin' today?" Nothing really. "C'mon, let's go out riding somewhere." He borrowed his friend's very beat up Chevrolet. Mind you, Jon had no license. (Neither did I, but I didn't drive). We'd go sailing up and down the streets of Minot, population at the time, 22,000. Every girl he shouted at would give him the time of day. John Cougar was on the radio singing "Jack and Diane." Jon, who could not hold a note if it had a handle on it, sang out real loud: "Oh yeah! Life goes on long after the thrill of livin' is gone!" Man he was so much fun! Soon John Cougar (Mellancamp) became one of my faves too. Soon after that Jon bought a motorcycle - a Honda 750. When he got that thing we'd go out riding for hours and hours on our days off. Remember, no license. I was on the bike with him when we passed a cop (going the other way) on our way down to Bismarck doing 132mph! When Jon sweet-talked his way out of that, he hopped back on the bike and sped out doing 50 or 60. Dude was crazy!
After being out of touch for 18 years I found him using US Search on the Internet. It was the first week in June of 2001. Up until that day he was still 18 years old to me. He had been married and divorced, has a daughter, had major surgery due to a motorcycle accident. He's on the west coast and I'm on the east coast. We talk by phone and by e-mail occasionally. We met up again in July 2009 in the Bronx. He's driving a rig cross-country. Same cool dude I knew back in '83.
WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER THE SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB?
 I didn't follow my Air Force career of Medical Technology once I was honorably discharged. I left the military to go to college for Engineering. However, I did not become an engineer. I'm still finding my way as to what I want to do for the rest of my life.
HOW HAS MILITARY SERVICE INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND CAREER?
 The rearing my parents provided me, as well as my experience in the United States Air Force are the foundation for my career endeavors. I do my best to hold to the values my parents and the military instilled in me. Most of all I do my best to hold to and live according to how Jesus Christ would have me to live. I often fall short, yet I aim to stay or get back on the right track.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THOSE THAT ARE STILL SERVING?
 Serve our beloved country with the utmost pride and honor, and live your life the same way everyday. When you mess up, own up to it and move on. Respect your Commander-in-Chief, no matter what his/her political party is. Treat your fellow military brothers and sisters with endearment.
IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU MAINTAIN A BOND WITH YOUR SERVICE AND THOSE YOU SERVED WITH?
I've only begun using this site, but I must say I believe it will be a magnificent experience. The welcome I've already received has been tremendous! Thank you all for making me feel so at home. I will update this answer as I use this site more and more.
Thank you.
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My older brother, TSgt Willie Lofton, had been in the Air Force for 11 years when I contemplated joining. First I considered the Marines. I had a Marine recruiter come out to the house in 1979 when my parents were not home. It was the first time I saw a VCR. He popped in a tape to show me the Marines' boot camp. I was impressed, but when my parents found out about it they had a fit. So then I decided upon the Air Force.
Dates of rank:
a couple of airmen from there. I also gained incredible experience as the supervisor of the blood donor program for a year. Clark Air Base was also where I was introduced to amateur powerlifting. I was a member of the Clark Air Base Powerhouse Powerlifting team. SSgt Ray Long was the coach extraordinaire. Good times!
we saw one another. He was a cool dude and all. We just didn't click as buddies I guess.
The award I am most proud of having received was my 
thought he and I would have become friends. We were different in every way! He grew up in southern California. Dude was unkempt and carefree. He owned about three pairs of pants (2 jeans, 1 corduroy) and about three knit shirts. He saw no need for underwear or socks or shoes. He would sometimes wear socks in the winter, and sneakers sufficed for shoes. He smoked cigarettes, drank competitors under the table, excelled at any sport he tried for the first time, was clueless when it came to politics, religion, or any type of 'conformity.' Jon was a whole trip. I saw him talk his way out of a ticket for driving his motorcycle at 132 mph with no license!! If you were his friend he became intensely loyal. And man was he ever "God's gift" to women. 
I didn't follow my Air Force career of Medical Technology once I was honorably discharged. I left the military to go to college for Engineering. However, I did not become an engineer. I'm still finding my way as to what I want to do for the rest of my life.
The rearing my parents provided me, as well as my experience in the United States Air Force are the foundation for my career endeavors. I do my best to hold to the values my parents and the military instilled in me. Most of all I do my best to hold to and live according to how Jesus Christ would have me to live. I often fall short, yet I aim to stay or get back on the right track.
Serve our beloved country with the utmost pride and honor, and live your life the same way everyday. When you mess up, own up to it and move on. Respect your Commander-in-Chief, no matter what his/her political party is. Treat your fellow military brothers and sisters with endearment.
