Spot 9’s EMBC (pronounced “embassy”)
We used to joke that we lived in a gated community with a golf course.
Welcome to Altus AFB. The 58th Airlift Squadron (58 AS) is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, training pilots for airlift and airdrop operations.
Back in the day, instructor pilots would stop off at the squadron where “Spot 9” had beer on tap and talked about their experiences with student pilots before heading home to dinner. Spot 9 was decorated with sexy, signed pin-ups of gorgeous and famous women.
This image of four C-17 pilot spouses was shot late at night (after the eight children between us were put to bed) standing inside a garage in base housing on South Gum St., where we lived. Using a self-timer, I ran after each shot to get back into position.
We printed it, matted it, signed it “xoxo — EMBC,” framed it, and secretly slipped it onto Spot 9’s infamous wall of beauties. We thought we were pretty clever.
A few years after we left that assignment, we heard that the Air Force had taken Spot 9 away. Sad, because it was a way for pilots to engage with and learn from one another, but understandable.
We were not sad to hear when we moved out that our base houses were condemned and later torn down. It seems our complaints of having to heat our houses with our ovens and mold growing through the walls were finally heard.
While I haven’t been back to Altus since the day I drove away to Northern Virginia, I have regular, weekly contact with my cherished, elite sorority of C-17 spouses.