6/6/2012 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Ashley Armes was finishing her master's degree in U.S. diplomatic history at Texas Tech University in 2006 when a graduate adviser approached her about a job possibility she had never envisioned.
The Air Education and Training Command history office at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph was seeking an intern through the Palace Acquire Program, a formal training plan that prepares individuals for an Air Force civilian career. Although she thought a teaching career was imminent - and she had no military background - Armes interviewed for the position and was soon accepted into the program.
"My first day on a military installation was my first day at work," she said.
Armes, who is nearly six years into her civil service career, now serves as 12th Flying Training Wing historian. She said her stint at AETC provided her with the perfect springboard for her career.
"It was great to start in that environment," she said. "I learned something new every day. There were five historians and a curator there; you usually don't get an opportunity to work with that many experienced colleagues because most history offices are one-person shops."
About two years after becoming a Palace Acquire intern, Armes was running her own one-person shop when she was outplaced to Aviano Air Base, Italy, as 31st Fighter Wing historian. She ran the wing office there for three years and successfully completed a deployment before returning to Randolph.
Armes said historians' responsibilities include collecting "a ton of documents," as well as photos, in both hard-copy and digital form. A high-capacity storage and retrieval system in the Randolph History Office serves as a physical archive.
Among historians' other duties are interviewing leadership and subject-matter experts, attending meetings, providing outreach to the base community and writing an annual wing history that must be approved by the wing commander, she said.
"We're searching for the 'why,' such as why leadership made the decisions they made," Armes said. "We try to focus on big issues, but ultimately it's about the activities of the people who work in the 12th FTW. It's the people who are making the history."
The wing history is the cornerstone of the historian's duties. Armes said it reflects "what's most important to the commander."
"Its goal is to capture information to educate the Air Force about its past and aid future leaders in making decisions," she said.
Armes said historians "write topically, not chronologically."
"We look at things such as flying activities, maintenance issues and other key aspects of accomplishing the unit's mission," she said.
Armes called the history "a summary of a unit's annual life" - the organizations, key personnel, the number of deployed Airmen, budget information, aircraft assigned to the installation, maintenance statistics and safety issues, such as birds striking aircraft.
Armes said she'd like to spend more time each day writing the history, but no day is the same in her office. She responds to inquiries that arrive by mail, email or phone call; serves as an expert on Randolph's history, including its vintage aircraft in Air Heritage Park and memorabilia in the Taj Mahal.
"That keeps it interesting," she said.
Armes said she receives inquiries on a daily basis.
"Historians answer inquiries from Airmen basic and four-star generals to retirees and the general public," she said. "They cover a wide range of topics."
Armes said some are routine, while others are more unpredictable. When she was assigned to Aviano, one person asked her if one of the base's hangars was really haunted.
Armes said she enjoys responding to inquiries and the challenges of her position.
"It means something to people," she said. "It's nice to find people an answer to what they're looking for. You never know exactly what your day's going to look like; there's something new every day. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it."