Commentary: A week of work experience in Public Affairs Published July 12, 2013 By Elizabeth Ritsema 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs intern ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- During my internship working in the 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office, I have learned so many things, but the main two are: Never trust what your English teacher says about writing an article, because you will most likely not write that way, and anything to do with writing about the U.S. Air Force will no doubt include a bucket full of terminology that you might not understand. I'll never forget the experiences I had my first week working in PA. It has given me a whole new understanding of journalism and photography which I know my school could never have given me. My first day working in PA was not what I expected. Honestly, I just thought that I was going to be the coffee girl or stuffing envelopes, but instead, I started preparation for writing my very own article, which is something I thought I would never get to do. I also got to go and record a hot-topic speech on the impending civilian furloughs. It was kind of boring, but I still gained new knowledge which is the most important thing. My second day on the job was so interesting! I got to conduct a proper interview (although Staff Sgts. Erick Ballesteros and Jose Contreras, 48th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Repair and Reclamation craftsmen, pretty much just gave me the information without me having to ask very many questions). After the interview, Senior Airman Lausanne Genuino, 48th FW Public Affairs photojournalist, and I received a full tour of their workspace and even got to climb around on top of an F-15 Eagle. Getting to work that close to a $28 million aircraft was scary because, knowing me, I was probably going to end up breaking something important. The next day wasn't as exciting as the previous, but it still included a lot of learning, which I am always up for. My job: transcribe and decipher the whole interview with the reclamation craftsman. This turned out to be an intense session of pausing, playing, forwarding and rewinding in order to document exactly what they were saying. But, I did it! I didn't expect to be able to finish it so quickly, but it all came together once I had their quotes. Writing my article consisted of a whole other story involving some pretty tough afternoon hours, a computer, a smoothie and a lot of help. I had most of the information, but I needed more. I had to call back Ballesteros and Contreras and this ended up making me have to decipher a whole lot of jargon. But all and all, it ended up being okay -- for a first draft. Now my article was finally on paper with a headline and everything. The only thing left to do was to let it go through a chain of editors, for me to make any corrections and to then post it on the base's website. Since my dad is working on his doctorate, when I told him I was writing an article and that it was going up on the website, he now refers to me as "my daughter who was published before me"-- which always makes me smile. Working in public affairs is really like being accepted into a little family. It has given me the confidence that I need for writing my own articles and convinced me to pursue a career in the journalism field. I'm so thankful for everything that I have learned. Status of Operation Work Experience: Brilliant.