The Everyday Veteran Podcast: Michael Hill

The Everyday Veteran Podcast

In this episode we talk with Air Force Veteran, Michael Hill. Michael was born in Alameda, CA in 1965 and his father, James Marion Hill, Sr., served in the Coast Guard Reserve. Michael had the great opportunity to grow up in Greer, South Carolina. While in school, entering the military never entered his mind. In 1984, he graduated from Greer High School and didn’t want to go to college, as he had no real direction of what he wanted to do in life. Michael worked for a private aviation company in Greer and thought about getting his A& P (airframe & power) certification. But again, money for school wasn’t there. During this time, he was still struggling with what he wanted to do in life and thought about the military, seeing that it would give him a job, an education, and other opportunities that he didn’t have at the time. So, off the recruiting offices he went and when he looked at all the different branches, he decided on the Air Force. As a young man who had no direction in life, no self-esteem, and the feeling that the boot camps of the Army, Navy and Marines wasn’t something that he would pass, he chose the Air Force. Michael enlisted in the Air Force and was on the delayed enlistment program and had about 6 months before leaving to Basic. Michael was afraid to tell his parents but remembers telling his dad while standing in the driveway. Michael says, “I told him a month before I was to leave (February 1986). He was surprised but happy that I had decided about what I wanted to do in life. I come from a long line of Veterans. My Great Grandfather, Leonard A. Purdy was in WWI. All my dad’s uncles (both his parents' brothers) were in WWII. My mother’s oldest brother did two tours in Vietnam and her youngest brother was in the Army as a Paratrooper. I am the last of in the family to go into the military. After going to MEPS, I received my job as a 906X0 – Medical Admin Specialist. Basic training was at Lackland AFB, and Tech School was at Sheppard AFB. I was a Squad Leader in Tech School. I served at David Grant USAF Medical Center (DGMC) from ‘86-’88. While there, I was assigned to the Command Section, supporting the Command Staff of DGMC. I was also assigned to the Personnel Office, taking over the “Officer Affairs” programs and was handed a task to get the programs in shape and to have the failure rates (the time of completion has passed, and the item/program is still not completed) less than 10%. At the time of this job, all programs were over 50% failure rate. I succeeded in achieving what the Command Staff wanted. I was Airman of the Month, Airman of the Quarter, Sr. Airman Below the Zone (6 month accelerated promotion) and I received the Sr. Enlisted Advisors Award for DGMC. Upon my release from Active Duty to the Reserves, I served in the 12th Contingency Hospital at Travis AFB”. After his military service, Michael served in Law Enforcement, later retiring, and moving to Palm Springs, California. Michael currently lives in Conroe, Texas, volunteers, and helps other veterans suffering from PTSD through cooking and sharing meals.