McGuire Airman wins $1,000 scholarship with essay Published Oct. 1, 2008 By 1st Lt. Kyle Harrington 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. -- Congratulations to 1st Lt. Kyle Harrington, 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, who was one of 25 winners in the 2008 Air Force Club Scholarship program. The program awarded $1,000 scholarships to the top 25 entries in a 500-word essay contest themed "The most important person in my life." Below is his winning entry. Next to every great man is a great woman. Although I don't often regard myself as "great," the woman beside me truly is. The most important person in my life is my wife, Kristin. Kristin and I have been together since high school and she has walked with me every step of the way in my young Air Force career. In the beginning, she encouraged me to stick with the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in college when it was not always the easiest thing to do. Now, she backs my choice to re-enlist and to take an assignment in a new place in the near future, even if it means putting her promising career on hold, or at least in flux. Kristin and I were married two years ago, and although we had to plan our ceremony around TDYs and a deployment, it was very special. She wanted the military theme to permeate through our wedding, with uniforms, a chaplain's prayer, and the saber arch as we walked down the aisle, to show our family and friends at home how important serving our country was to us, and the sacrifices we had made to make it so. It was that day I realized, that although a civilian, Kristin was serving her country just as I was, and her selflessness is something that gives me strength to this day. Three months after returning from our honeymoon, I deployed half a world away. In a way Kristin did, too. She fought the battle on the home front: the bills, the car care, the dog's trips to the veterinarian, etc., and helped me to focus my worrying on my business in the desert. When I called home, she was nothing but positive no matter how bad a day she had. She was someone I could bounce ideas off of and seek advice without fear of judgment. During the holidays, she would arrange conference calls with my family so I would feel at home. She even kept track of my favorite baseball team and let me know how they were doing. When I returned, she welcomed me home and celebrated my accomplishments no matter how minor. Kristin is the most important person in my life because she challenges me to be a better Airman, because she has always been there for me in the past and will be there for me in the future. She willingly moved away from her family and has made sacrifices in her career to help me pursue mine. There are countless military spouses in this country who serve our nation every day in the same way Kristin does, and although they do not have special holidays to commemorate their service, they do not get to walk in celebratory parades, and they are not the recipients of decorations, they deserve our deepest gratitude and appreciation for the roles they play in the lives of our nation's servicemen and women. I cannot thank my wife Kristin enough for the important role she has played in mine.