A Hanscom AFB Chief's Two Decades in Pursuit of Higher Education

Behind the Iron Curtain and across the interwebs went the two decades-long and winding road to his bachelor’s degree, but that’s not stopping Chief Master Sgt. David E. Huerd from pursuing a master’s in homeland security. 

The 66th Securities Squadron manager at Hanscom Air Force Base, Huerd shared the story of his educational journey over on Hanscom’s news site.

“I joined the military when the Iron Curtin was still up. My plan was to serve my country abroad and get an education,” the first-person feature begins.

Huerd goes on tell of pursing his degrees in the time before online courses were available and when tuition assistance was lower than it is today. First came the family, then the Community College of the Air Force degree in 1991. Eighteen years and many different courses later Huerd enrolled in an online program and earned a bachelor’s in security management. Now, he’s working on his master’s and making the case for other Airmen to take advantage of the USAF’s tuition assistance and resources to pursue their own educational dreams.

“I am still on my educational journey; it has taken me many years, and I continue to challenge myself,” Huerd writes. “It is never too late to start or continue a degree program. Once you get started, it is easy to keep going.”

Read Huerd’s full account here on Hanscom AFB’s site.