From England to Tennessee to the Air Force

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman J. Paul Croxon
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
Listening to Airman 1st Class Adrian Edsall speak tells the story of his life. His accent (British mixed with a thick, Tennessee drawl, sounding like a BBC broadcast slowed down) combined with vocabulary peppered with English phrases and Southern clichés, immediately says there is something special about him.

His uniqueness is more than geographic. His empty desk in the customer service section of the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron, devoid of personal adornment, belies the accomplishments of the 28-year-old father and former collegiate basketball player. Even his trinity of college degrees is absent, perhaps because his collegiate accomplishments are evident enough in the way the talkative Airman converses.

Born on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of Great Britain, he moved to the United States 10 years ago, fulfilling a life-long dream.

"I've wanted to move to the United States since I was knee-high to a grasshopper," he said, his 10 years of exposure to the South coming through. "I've always admired the way Americans act on their beliefs and the endless opportunity here. In the states, you can do anything you want, and everyone here knows that their dreams can come true. My first plan was to play basketball in the NBA."

A foot injury in college dashed the dream of a professional basketball career, but by that time he had finished his undergraduate degree in American History and was working toward his master's degree. The injury also helped lead him to the Air Force.

While working as the director of the university recreation center, he happened to work with a former Air Force staff sergeant, giving him the drive to join himself.

"Being the son of a retired Royal air force officer, I enlisted in the Air Force with the goal of earning a commission through [Officer Training School] once I earned my citizenship," he said. "Who knows, perhaps I'll retire as some cantankerous old general who yells at kids in my front yard," he laughed, his proper British accent shining through for the moment.

Airman Edsall has experienced more than most; he attended a military boarding school in England for nine years; worked on a vineyard, a college recreation center, cut tobacco on a farm, and taught at the collegiate level; education has been the one constant in his life.

"Education is so important. It's something nobody can take away from you," he said. "If the Air Force offers to pay for your education, you have to grab on with both hands. It shocks me that every Airman on base doesn't have a degree."

Currently, Airman Edsall is finishing up the final few credits for his master's degree and working on his OTS package while enjoying every day in the Air Force and checking off goals on his list as they come.

"Everyone should write a list of goals every so often," he said. "The big goals in my life were to move to the United States and go to college. I also wanted to be taller than my older brother."

Airman Edsall is 6 feet 6 inches, his brother is 6 feet 1 inch. Goal complete.