Sara Stadem | Editor
When discussing future plans with your parents as a high schooler, there are many options to consider. For one Crooks family, the decision of their oldest son seemed to set the path for the rest of their children.
Scott and Dee Oyen are the parents of three children, Tyrel, Trent and Raechel, all who entered the U.S. Air Force following graduation from the Tri-Valley School District.
When asked why he enlisted, Tyrel, the oldest of the three, said, “I had to do something and I didn’t want to go to college. I was told the Air Force was the best and I wanted to go with the best.”
Tyrel enlisted in 2012 with Trent shortly behind in August of 2013. Trent explained, “I didn’t really have much to do after high school and I wasn’t ready for college. So, I decided to follow Tyrel into the Air Force.”
If having two children in the service wasn’t enough for one family to process, the Oyen family had one more to go. Raechel decided in join in April of 2014. “I joined because my brothers did and to pay for college.”
Raechel and her brothers also agreed their cousin, John Person, was also an influential factor for them joining the military.
Tyrel was the first to deploy which resulted in him leaving three different times. He was deployed in 2014, 2016 and 2017, each one lasting six months. Tyrel has been deployed to Jl Dhafra Air Base and two times to Korea.
He was an Aerospace Physiologist which meant he was a seat kit and suite kit technician for space suites for the U2 which is a high-altitude plane.
Tyrel enjoyed deployment. “It was good. I got to travel the world and do some world mission stuff. I got to see what the military did and overall, it was a fun experience.”
Trent was also deployed twice, once in 2018 and again this past year. “The first one was for seven months and this last time, thank you COVID, was eight months,” Trent said. The first deployment for Trent was at Qatar and the second go-round was Kuwait.
“It was just very hot the first time but I was surrounded by a lot of great people and friends,” Trent said. “So, it was actually a lot of fun. It was just hot the second time.”
Raechel laughed, “Come on, Trent! Trent was a security forces (military police) and the second one he was a fire fighter and just missed his girlfriend the whole time which is why he didn’t like it.”
Raechel followed suit with deployment this past year for seven months to the middle east. “I’m in personnel. So, I’m in Human Resources pretty much,” Raechel said. “We track everyone coming into the base and leaving the base. So, keeping track of everyone and causalities and if anyone had to leave and head back to the states.”
The experience was better for Raechel once COVID was over, according to her. “We met a bunch of cool people since there wasn’t a lot of SD people there. It was nice being that close to the mission since we don’t have that all the time,” Raechel said. “It was hot but overall it was a good experience.”
With all three siblings being deployed throughout their time in the military, some during the same timeframe, this left Dad and Mom having to adjust to the change. “I would say right off the bat, they weren’t a big fan of all of us being in the military,” Trent said. “But by the time Raechel went, I would say they were happy for her to go to experience it.”
Raechel said, “Trent and I went less than two weeks apart. So, I think that was hard on them, that was an adjustment.” She continued, “With Tyrel being gone so much, it was hard just because we didn’t have any holidays with all of us together because one of us was always gone.”
Tyrel added, “I was gone three straight Christmas’s. Last year was my first Christmas home. So, it was our first Christmas all together.”
Trent laughed, “Nope, I was gone last Christmas.” Raechel added, “That’s right! Trent was gone and I left right after so we didn’t get Christmas together last year either.”
For each of them, being in the military has meaning behind it. For Tyrel, it means being proud of his country and he’s glad he got to experience things that most people in the world will never get to do. Trent said the military gave him purpose and discipline to grow up and Raechel said she agrees with both of her brothers; it gives you something bigger than yourself and something different to travel the world and experience stuff that most don’t get to do.
Tyrel has since transitioned to the Air National Guard and is now full-time active duty in the Air National Guard as of late 2018. Trent got out of active duty in 2019 and out of the Air National Guard as of this year.
Raechel was recently nominated for Sanford’s Veteran of the Year award, which she received. “I’m getting a plaque and bonus and I get to go to a ceremony on Veteran’s Day for it,” Raechel said. “I got it as a surprise when I got to work. There were like 50 people standing in my work for it.”
For those looking to get into the military, the Oyen family has some advice.
Tyrel said, “Go active, hell yeah!” He also explained not to go in with an open contract, meaning if you don’t have a specific job going into the military, they can put you where they think you should be. His advice is to wait for the job you want and wait for the opening.
Trent’s advice is, “Whatever you choose, I’d say just go for it and basic training is easy.”
Raechel seemed to have a little different view on the basic training. “I say do it, get out of your small town and do it. People are scared of the basic training and it’s tough but everything after that is a reward.”