Photo By Maj. Leyda Kanzler | CW2 Adam Best pilot and proud father of four poses next to his Eurocopter UH-71 Lakota...... read more read more
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AUSTIN, Texas - A Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota pilot for Task Force Aviation and father of four, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Adam Best has taken on his role of fatherhood with great pride.
Joining the Army January 2004, he will have 16 years of service, which coincidentally is the same age as his oldest daughter.
“I did five years active duty starting in Germany,” said Best. “Then came to Kansas, deployed to Iraq, then got off active duty and went into the National Guard in 2009.”
Best grew up familiar with the military life saying that his dad was an active duty military intelligence officer. In 1989 he spent four years in Germany as a kid he went on to describe how his Dad served in Desert Storm in 1991, all moments that taught Best to be ‘’more flexible than the average kid.’’
Many years later he would unknowingly find himself following in his Dad’s footsteps, but as an aviation officer. A decision he made after looking at the cost of college and maintaining a family. He found the military to be the better route for his growing family.
“I wanted to be an architect,” he said. “I don’t regret my decision at all, it’s done wonders.”
Best goes on to say that his frequent traveling has been tough, but right now he feels stable.
The past year and a half he traveled a lot. He describes how his kids are understanding of his career and they keep an open communication with everything going on.
“We (my wife and I) try and develop them (the kids) to have effective communication and conflict resolution,” he said. “It’s good to sit down and reevaluate yourself and your family.”
Though Best believes he may not have a lot of effect outside his home and what others are doing; he guides his kids in a way to be objective and open minded young adults.
Though his children understand the risks that their father faces, Best tries his best to maintain normal routines at home.
“We can’t completely remove the risk, but we can mitigate it as much as possible through our risk assessments,” he said. “Making sure we are doing our training and taking it seriously. All of these potential risks of dangers make the fact that I am father even more precious. I always remind my wife and kids of how much I love them.”
Fatherhood has always been a dream for Adam Best. He enjoys family games nights, and their traditional Friday night pizza. He described how he was able to have more family dinners even with the daunting events of COVID-19.
Looking back Best stated fatherhood was one of the hardest things he has ever done.
Over the years he’s learned to be honest with himself and to know his limits.
“Make sure you spend time for yourself,” he said. “While they (your kids) are incredibly important you can’t be a good effective parent if you’re tired all the time, if you’re stressed or are not giving you and your spouse the attention that you need.”
Through it all Adam went on to say that the greatest thing about being a dad are the moments when you truly connect with yours kids, the moment when you feel secure in the sense that you know they are going to have different opinions but they are going to be ok.
For Father’s Day Chief Warrant Officer 2 Adam Best is looking forward to letting his kids spoil him with whatever surprise they have planned for him, then going to visit with his Dad and enjoying some much-needed family time. “You’re going to remember the moments; watching them grow and becoming people.”
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| Date Taken: | 06.17.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2020 14:09 |
| Story ID: | 372543 |
| Location: | AUSTIN, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Journey of Fatherhood, by MAJ Leyda Kanzler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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