(January 2026 Catch Up Post!)
In this post:
I start trying to catch up to my schedule of monthly posts while looking forward.
Ideally, my posts would be consistently written every month, but that has not been the case. The current idea is to write a post each week in order to catch up to where I’m “supposed” to be by this time.
I got eye surgery back in November, which had a dramatic impact on my ability to comfortably look at text on a screen for pretty much any duration of time. The holidays followed, and now I’m missing three monthly posts.
Life is also getting busy with the new year and an upcoming change of assignment.
I’ll presumably be at Post 56 by the end of January; 16 posts will remain for this project.
Originally, I expected to be a captain for 72 months. However, as my package went to the board last week, it occurred to me that I could be promoted as early as September 2026 or as late as August 2027. June 2027 would be 72 months from June 2021 – when I pinned on captain. My promotion could be as early as 63 Airman’s Writings or as late as 74.
Even so, the goal remains 72 AW, regardless of my being a captain or not.
I’ve looked forward to what my next regular writing project might be.
I want to write novels, but I kind of like having a regular thing to publish, too, so that’s the context with which I considered this next project.
I have two ideas right now.
The first idea is a weekly “Major’s Moment” in which I share some thoughts – maybe about an event – I have in my daily professional life. Stuff happens all the time, and sometimes that stuff causes lingering wonderment. Thoughts like “Wait, could something I said earlier have been taken in a different, perhaps insulting way?” or “Oh, they said X but I definitely interpreted Z at that moment. Why did that happen?”
Overall, the idea would be my reflections shared for the benefit of anyone who reads my posts. I think it would mostly be about navigating communication.
My second idea is also a weekly series. This would instead be a story that tries to parallel some acquisition concepts into something exciting.
I’ve had a story idea brewing, but it feels like it falls outside the realm of novels I’d really like to write. Plus, I almost only think about it in the brief moments between bursts of work in the office.
Having a fictional, entertaining way to consume the elements of the acquisition world that does not involve an endless stream of mostly bland computer based training with tons of text just sounds better than trying to develop expertise across myriad, distinct disciplines across program management, engineering, logistics, finance, contracting, and so on… honestly, it just sounds necessary.
The second idea came to me very recently, while I’ve had the first idea for almost as long as I’ve been writing the 72 AW posts. The second idea appeals to me much more, but also sounds significantly more difficult to execute. I cannot simply ramble my way through a weekly writing exercise with the second idea.
But – I’m not a major yet. The 72 AW posts will only be ~74-78% done by the end of this month.
I’ve got some time if I want to try planning at least the first few weeks of that story.
72 Airman's Writings 