Home is where the heart, mission are

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Nicole Poff
  • Public Affairs
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  Many people join the military for the opportunity to travel to far-off exotic places, miles away from the comfort and familiarity of family and friends.
Not the Boeckmans.
Capt. Kyle Boeckman, 25th Flying Training Squadron instructor pilot, and his younger brother 2nd Lt. Scott Boeckman, 33rd Flying Training Squadron Class 07-04 student, both chose to be at Vance near their parents, Walter and Teresa Boeckman, who live in Enid. The middle brother, Eric, lives in Dallas, not much farther away.
Captain and Lieutenant Boeckman are native Oklahomans. Captain Boeckman spent most of his youth in Perry, where his parents previously lived before their move to Enid, where his younger brother spent most of his youth.
Captain Boeckman left home to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. He graduated in 1996, attended graduate school at the University of Illinois, graduated from undergraduate pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, in 1998 and then spent a tour at Pope AFB, N.C., where he flew A-10s.
"Given my career and the fact I have a wife and two kids of my own, I thought it was a pretty perfect opportunity to try and be close to the rest of the family," the captain said.
Kyle volunteered to return to Vance in 2003 and was fortunate enough to get it.
"It's been great, probably better than I could have anticipated," Captain Boeckman said.
Lieutenant Boeckman has lived in Enid since the age of 10 and while he left Enid for several years, he was never far from home. The lieutenant attended school at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and then spent his casual status as a newly-commissioned officer at Tinker AFB while awaiting his slot at undergraduate pilot training.
"I wanted Vance because I knew it would probably be the last time I'd be near my family for a while," Lieutenant Boeckman said. "I'm sure when the time comes, I'll be ready to go somewhere else."
While both brothers have been fortunate enough to be near one another and share their experiences with their friends and family, both will be going their separate ways in the near future. Lieutenant Boeckman will graduate by the end of the year and his older brother is due for a new assignment before then.