HERITAGE TO HORIZONS: High school graduate gives AF a try for 29 years Published Sept. 7, 2007 By Senior Airman Tong Duon 56th Fighter Wing Public affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. - -- The sea of blue uniforms drifting along the long winding San Antonio River Walk caught the attention of a high school student on summer vacation. She continued to think about it until June 4, 1976, when she decided to give the Air Force a try. A year after graduating high school and still undecided on her future, Eileen Berning remembered how cool the Airmen graduating basic military training looked and decided to join. Berning's decision took her out of her hometown, Fairfield, Maine, to places all over the world, including the Middle East, Europe, Asia and stateside bases. In 2005 she retired as chief master sergeant bringing her 29-year Air Force ride to an end. For the first four years, she worked as a KC-135 tanker crew chief, but crossed trained as a maintenance trainer at the behest of her husband. "My husband did not like me pulling alerts," said Berning. "Plattsburgh Air Force Base, N.Y., was the Strategic Air Command's largest alert pad with 13 tankers and nine bombers on alert at all times. When we were called, we had to go up (to the other side of the flightline) and stay there for seven days on and four off, ready to crawl on board the KC-135 at anytime." Steadily rising through the enlisted ranks, Berning witnessed many changes in the Air Force. "I've seen lots of changes in my Air Force journey," she said. "Most notably the number of females on the flightline increased dramatically from when I first came in and when I left. I started in 1976 when the Air Force started allowing women to work on planes. I was the third female to hit the flightline at Plattsburgh, and it was a huge flightline. Now there are plenty of females in all career fields." One very notable change Berning noticed was the use of unisex latrines. "In those early days as a maintenance troop, men and women had to share a latrine," she said. "When I needed to use it, I flipped the sign that was hung in front of the door, indicating the latrine was being used by a female." The regulation for skirt length was either two inches above or below the knee. "But, it was really up to the discretion of the base commander," she said with a smile. "If you had nice legs, the commander allowed you to wear it a little shorter." After serving more than a decade overseas and experiencing many changes to Air Force operations, Berning decided to retire and now lives near Luke.