My First Step into Steemit

Hello Steem!

First, let me start by saying THANK YOU for all of the warm welcomes I have already received before creating my introduce yourself blog. This community platform has been a fantastic source of information and there are a LOT of really talented people here.

I just got home from the Firehouse and decided I better get this done so it can be official. You can see I'm still in my uniform shirt and looking tired as hell. :)

My name is Blake Northcutt. I'm 28 years old, born May 4th 1989 at approximately 4am. I was born into a nuclear family in the state of Kansas. Growing up I observed my parents, picked up good things and bad, and tried to pick out the pieces I needed to be the best version of my perceivable self. I attended public schools K-18, earned good grades until junior year when I became bored, and graduated in May of 2017 with my diploma.

In the Fall of 2007, just 3 months later, I enlisted into the United States Air Force where I spent 6 years working at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station as a Security Forces Leader with the 721st Security Forces Squadron. You can learn more information about that base here: http://www.themilitarystandard.com/afb/co/cheyenne.php. If you have ever been to Colorado Springs, maybe you noticed the huge antenna towers on the south ridge of the mountains. Just below that is the base.

Just after my one year mark in the Air Force I deployed to Balad, Iraq. Otherwise known as Mortaritaville because of the constant mortar and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attacks. Needless to say, as a 19 year old kid, I was scared and excited. I had no idea what I was about to get into. I spent about 7 months there and returned to CMAFS. A couples years later, I deployed to FOB Shank, Afghanistan, RC EAST, Logar Province. See map below:

Old Glory on Fob Shank

I learned a lot about myself in these two places. I learned teamwork, leadership, courage, how to handle fear, how to decompress after stress and manage it, and how to help others and make sound decisions under extreme stress and chaos.
I've never had so much fun in my life while being scared shitless all at the same time, and some of the relationships I built over there stick with me 8 years later. As do the memories.

In 2013 a decision needed to be made. A life altering, coarse changing decision. I had to decide whether to re-enlist, or separate from the service after 6 years. In my heart, I knew I was done. I needed to be DONE but I still wanted to have a purpose, which is where the lessons and life experience of my Father, Rob Northcutt came in. He was a Firefighter for the city I was born in for 20 years and I watched him progress through his career. He had a purpose every day he went to work, a calling, a vocation. I knew I still needed that. So, I made my decision. I would separate from the Air Force and become a firefighter.

October 2013, my separation papers had finalized in August and I was totally free. I began going to school to get my Emergency Medical Technician license, which is a requirement for most career departments. 6 months later, boom, I had my license. March of 2014 I began schooling for my Firefighter 1, 2, Hazardous Materials Awareness, and Operations level certifications. Soon after I achieved those as well and began putting out applications late 2014.

May 2015. I got a job. A career position with a prestigious city in Kansas. I couldn't be more excited. The best part was, after my graduation, my Dad got to pin my badge on my chest. Here we are:

I've been doing this for over 2 years now and love every minute of it.

When I'm not on duty, I'm doing something crypto related. I'm fascinated by the technology and potential for economic growth. Which is how I found Steemit. I wish I would have joined a year ago when I first heard about it but times were busy. Finally, I'm settled in to my new life and can begin branching out into new things. My plan with Steemit, is to engage with the community on a daily basis and try to create myself a little cornerstone within the platform.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I hope you found something interesting. I'm pumped to be a part of this growing community and can't wait to meet some of you!

Please, comment one thing you liked about my post, or ask me a question. I will answer and then follow you for engaging.

Thank you!
-Steem Blake

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blake.northcutt.7