Montgomery Teen Heading to US Air Force Basic Training

Montgomery, IL — A recent graduate of Oswego East High School is heading off to the United States Air Force basic training.

Brianna Lisner is a highly motivated 17-year-old Montgomery girl, but she didn’t grow up with dreams of joining the United States Armed Forces. The desire came after she had looked at a few colleges while trying to decide what she wanted to do with her life.

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“Nothing felt like home, like this is what I wanted to do,” she said.

Then she saw her cousin graduate from basic training.

“I fell in love with the idea of the military, all the benefits you get from it and I felt more connected to that than I did to college visits,” she said.

Entering any branch of the military isn’t something to be taken lightly, and Lisner did her research. No surprise for a girl who’s got 4.0 GPA and skipped her junior year of high school.

“After looking at the different branches and stuff, the Air Force gave you the most benefits and it’s one of the harder branches to get into,” she said. “I wanted to challenge myself. The Air Force stood out to me more than the Marines or Navy. I wanted to see what I could do and what I could offer the Air Force.”

Lisner leaves Sep. 6 and will be stationed at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. She will work in aviation resource management.

“Basically, I’m in charge of the aircrew and aircraft,” she said. She’ll read over the flight records and missions and do a final run-through and make sure everything is good to go.

If that sounds like a lot of responsibility for someone just joining, you’re right. But like most things in her life, Lisner has prepared for it.

“I took college AP classes. Basically, before you even enlist, you take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test,” she said. “The higher you score, the better the jobs you get. It’s harder for normal civilians to get this job. Not only do you have to have the scores to get through it, you need to have the leadership skills to run and manage the aircrew and the aircraft.

A few of Lisner’s family members have also been involved in the Air Force, including one who was the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, according to Lisner.

“Basically, he was in charge of the Air Force under the president,” she said.

Lisner will be in basic training for seven-and-a-half weeks. After that, she’ll go to her tech school in Biloxi, Mississippi for a month. After that, she’ll go to wherever she’s stationed.

The ultimate goal for Lisner is to become a veterinarian, but she also wants to serve her country.

While the Air Force doesn’t offer the vet option, she may be able to work on a base as a civilian vet.

“I’d like to do that, but I want to be part of the Air Force for as long as I can,” Lisner said.

If her past is any indication, she’ll be able to do whatever she sets her mind to.