By Amelia A. Pridemore
Brian Toney’s life was “stagnant” after he graduated from high school, but joining the United States Air Force allowed him to help rebuild a scout camp Hurricane Katrina ripped apart and secure Pentagon computers.
Now, he is back in his native Raleigh County, hoping to open the same doors to young people that were once opened to him.
Toney, a 24-year-old senior airman, is now one of the Air Force’s recruiters in Beckley. He said his post, held since July, allows young people walking the same paths he once did — literally — to see what “amazing” opportunities are available.
Toney graduated from Shady Spring High School in 2003, and he joined the Air Force two years later. He said he had always wanted to join because he had an earlier interest in aviation, and he wanted to serve his country. He believed that branch was the best for him to do that.
“They opened the doors, and I walked in. I haven’t looked back since,” he said.
He did basic training in Texas and was later sent to Biloxi, Miss., for his eight-month career training as a computer network specialist. But Toney said he did much more than work with electronics. At that time, Hurricane Katrina had devastated Biloxi and almost the entire Gulf Coast. Military personnel worked to rebuild communities torn apart and provided aid to victims.
Toney called the experience a mix of both heartache and reward. On one hand, he saw what the people of Mississippi had endured. But he was also given the chance to ease their suffering during their darkest hours. He was part of an Air Force group that practically rebuilt an entire Boy Scout camp, where he saw just how powerful Katrina’s storm surge was.
“At the Boy Scout camp, there was a full-size shrimp boat up in the trees. We had to get it down,” he said. “That’s how far the floodwaters had pushed (the boat) up. There was nothing left before, but once we cleaned it up, we saw the Boy Scouts coming back. That was nice to see.”
Helping child victims of the storm struck a chord with Toney. He said Air Force personnel kept a toy warehouse stocked, and they passed toys out to children who had lost everything.
“That was very heart-melting,” he said. “I never felt more needed. You never feel as good about yourself as when you’re helping another human being. These were children who had nothing left — with their families having no shelter and worried where their next meals were coming from.
“We were able to pass on a little bit of hope. I would have never been able to do that without the Air Force’s opportunities. It’s life-changing, really.”
The computer training Toney said he received in Biloxi involved basically building computers from scratch and working to build networks secure enough for the Pentagon. Then, personnel like him had to conduct “cyber patrols.”
Next, he moved on to Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont., where he spent three years. Toney said he volunteered to go overseas multiple times, but he has not yet had the opportunity.
The Air Force has a Web site that notifies its personnel when and where recruiter slots open. He volunteered for the job and chose Beckley.
Toney said he loved the Air Force career and work in Biloxi — so much that he woke up every day, ready to go to work. He wanted to show other young people what a young person from Beckley can do in the Air Force.
Some people, he said, do not know if the Air Force is right for them, but a recruiter can help them with that decision, giving direction to those who need it and opening doors that could not have been opened otherwise.
First-hand knowledge of young Raleigh Countians’ ways of life and their struggles has not hurt, either, according to Toney. He is currently his region’s top recruiter.
“I’ve been here — literally,” he said. “I know exactly what they’re going through. I know every day that they go home and maybe go out to the only (nearby) mall except the one in Bluefield. The job field isn’t that good. For some specific careers, you might have to go out-of-state.
“We can offer a different path. It’s the American Dream to go to college, but the Air Force’s old slogan was ‘Do something amazing.’ That’s true. You can’t be an engine mechanic on a F-22 (fighter plane) or work on computer systems in the Pentagon without being in the Air Force, really. Work for us, and there are several things you can do. You can be a cop in Tokyo. There are more than 150 jobs, and you can’t find them anywhere else but here.”
One person can make a small difference in others’ lives, according to Toney, but once that person joins a huge group committed to the same cause, that impact grows exponentially.
“It’s not just me. It’s the entire Air Force,” he said. “One person can make a small difference, but a thousand people can make a huge difference in people’s lives and in communities. Who do you often see out there doing a lot of the manual work? It’s usually the military. We’re usually the first in to help.”
After he spends four years as Beckley’s recruiter, Toney said he can move to another recruiting station or return to his first Air Force career. He said he finds the work exciting, with every situation being different. He may stick with it for his entire career. Toney will also be promoted to staff sergeant in April.
The position also allows Toney to spend time with family he rarely saw before. His wife Desirae is a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate he married four years ago and the same year he joined the Air Force. The couple has two sons: Izayah, 4, and Logun, 2.
Desirae, he said, stayed in Beckley while he went through basic and career training. She would have normally been allowed to come with him during career training, but housing was destroyed in Biloxi. When that was completed, she moved to Montana with him.
Given it was difficult to travel between Montana and West Virginia to visit their hometown, family members are now thrilled to have the Toneys back in Beckley.
“They’re happy to see the kids more than twice a year,” he said.
E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com
