By Michael Tolzmann
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – Rising at 3 a.m. is a small sacrifice for the son of a Palmdale woman – the future of the Air Force awaits him.
With a uniform in perfect order, he pulls the immediately identifiable campaign hat low and straight, down the forehead to nearly the eyebrows. With a stern voice and a stoic physical presence, he directs raw recruits as they scramble into a unit formation. It’s the start of another day during an eight-and-a-half week indoctrination in becoming warrior airmen. Many will soon serve overseas or in a war zone.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael A. Miller, son of Barbara B. Miller, Palmdale, is a military training instructor, or MTI. He is the face of the Air Force for hundreds of trainees throughout the 
year. He molds recruits through a recently overhauled and expanded Air Force Basic Military Training here with a curriculum today that focuses on a ‘warrior first’ philosophy. Seven days a week Miller facilitates basic war skills, military bearing, discipline, physical fitness, drill and ceremonies, Air Force core values and subjects relating to Air Force life.
Miller’s duties and responsibilities in training recruits are extensive.
“I turn civilians into warrior airmen,” said Miller, a 1996 graduate of Palmdale High School.
“I develop their physical strength through conditioning and a rigorous physical training program. I develop their military knowledge through studies and academics. I teach the military drill and manual drill of arms. I indoctrinate and develop military dress and appearance as well as customs and courtesies. I help build pride and confidence in my recruits,” said Miller.
A job recognized within military ranks as ‘down right tough,’ Miller is dedicated in giving recruits what they need to become successful Air Force warriors.
“This job is important because without the military training instructor, we’d have no one to train the next generation to defend and lead our country. You don’t just wake up and become a warrior airman. My job is tough, first of all because of the long hours. I wake up at 3 a.m. and don’t get home until after 8 p.m., working 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Secondly, I get recruits from all over the world with different education levels and different ways of being raised and different values. I have to get them all to conform as one to the military lifestyle. After eight-and-a-half
weeks of training one group, the very next day I get a new group to begin the training process,” said Miller.
Miller holds an extreme sense of pride in knowing he is taking young people off the streets and molding them into airmen.
“Better me training these young people than someone else. I know the value of these trainees. They are going to protect our country and it’s very satisfying to see them graduate. One of my recruits could go on to have a successful career and become the next chief master sergeant of the Air Force,” said Miller.
Miller holds a broad Air Force background, making him a model mentor for recruits.
“I’ve been in the Air Force for eight years. I started my career as a presidential Air Force honor guardsman. I then cross trained into the communications field. Now I’m a military training instructor. I have served twice in Iraq from August to December of 2004, and August of 2005 to January of 2006. I plan to stay in the Air Force until I retire,” said Miller.
Without his yelling, long days, warrior training or marching step by step with recruits, the Air Force could fall short of meeting its future missions. But tomorrow he’ll again rise early, ensuring the recruits learn the tools they may need to survive.
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