Tomaskovic 1

Shannon R. Tomaskovic
Tammy Davis
Composition 1
2 Jun 2014

Autobiography of Shannon Tomaskovic
I was born in Fairfax, Virginia to Arlene Paychecko and John Duval. I was born to two
wonderful people that shared a special love for one another, but their life paths were too
different to share life together. My mom was a singer on a cruise ship; my father was a Navy
Seal. After I was born, they tried to join lives but shortly after realized that the military life of a
Navy Seal is not how they wanted their daughter to be raised. My parents raised me together but
apart. The military guided my life growing up, controlling when I had two parents in the
picture. Countless times Id receive calls from my father letting me know he would be away,
time un-known and destination confidential. My father, John Duval, was an amazing man; the
bond he maintained with me regardless of the hardships we were faced with from the military
taught me loyalty, leadership, and respect. It gave me a large love and deep passion for my
country. It taught me work ethic and the true meaning of dedication. Though mostly positive
came from it, it also engraved a little reminder in the back of my head, never marry into the
military.
I have carried all these tools from my father and utilized them all through my life. I
entered the life of motherhood very early. I embraced it with all the love and passion I had in
Tomaskovic 2

my heart. I dedicated myself to being the best mom and making a wonderful life for this little
angel I brought into the world. I worked my way through school, educating myself later to
become a broker with Wells Fargo. To this day, I hear the National Anthem or see our flag
waving in the wind and it gives me goose bumps and I send a little thank you up to my father
for helping make me who I am.
Remember the saying, most girls find a man just like their father and that will be their
true love. This saying certainly could not pertain to me due to that reminder I engraved in the
back of my head. Oddly enough, the year 2006 is where my life changed forever. In April of
2006, while attending Easter mass, I looked over and saw this beautiful man. I said something
to my friend that was seated next to me, and she chuckled and said, Stop, its immoral to look
at a man in church. About a month had passed and during my lunch break from work, I
checked my social internet account which was popular at the time. I had a message from a man
asking me to dinner and telling me how beautiful I was. I immediately responded, No, and
never contact me again! I did not believe in internet meetings. Yet another month passed; I was
out with a friend at a bar and I saw this man from across the room; he was so gorgeous. I spoke
to him briefly and when unaware, my friend gave him my number. Only a day had passed and
this man called and convinced me to meet him for dinner. I remember looking at him from
across the table feeling like I had met him before. Well, a bit into dinner we realized, he was the
man I saw at Easter mass as well as the man that messaged me on the internet; all in the end for
me to pick him up in a bar. His name was John Tomaskovic and he was a pilot in training for
the United States Air Force.
Days turned into months and months turned into years with John Tomaskovic. I have
seen tears, love, passion, gratitude, work ethic, compassion, and five deployments worth of pure
Tomaskovic 3

dedication. I watched him kiss his newborn babys head saying goodbye as he left her for a
deployment to serve his country. We have eaten dinner together as a family over Skype and I
have turned off the computer when his snoring has wakened me up even being thousands of
miles apart. Morning after morning, I watch him do what I call the chicken dance, wiggling
his way into his flight suite. I watch him with pride knowing he is the real deal; hes a man
filled with so much love and compassion for his country. He makes me so proud and eight years
later I find myself being reminded of that saying, most girls find a man just like their father
and that will be their true love. It makes me happy to share Johns story and show what its like
from a pilots eyes.
Biography of John Tomaskovic
John Tomaskovic was born on March 13, 1983 in LaGrange, IL. He was a shy, laid back
kid. His nick name was Johnny. His parents Chris and John Tomaskovic had no idea how much
respect and honor their little Johnny was going to bring to there family. At the age of 4 while
boarding a flight to Germany, Johnny looked at his mom and said, I am going to be a pilot one
day. Chris just smiled at her shy, little Johnny and said, You can do whatever you put your
mind to, son. As time went on, Johnny began to come out of his shell and started showing his
family just a little sample of his would-be achievements. John completed high school excelling
in track and on the football field. He moved on to college at Lewis University where he received
a three year scholarship with the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC). John
was on track to achieving his childhood dream of becoming an Air Force pilot. John had to
complete 18 to 21 credits a semester to be able to finish his degree in four years. He worked as a
valet attendant throughout his college years to pay for expenses and stay in shape. After four
years of school, another accomplishment was marked off the list. John graduated from Lewis
Tomaskovic 4

with a BAS in Aircraft Maintenance Management. In the year 2004, Johns dream was finally
becoming a reality. He earned his pilot slot, one of only approximately 800 pilot slots available
worldwide for the USAF. He pinned on 2
nd
Lieutenant with the United States Air Force in the
Spring of 2005.
From the eyes of a pilot
2005 is the year I learned what becoming a man all was about. I moved across the
country from my family to Valdosta, Georgia to survive on my own. I left with so many
questions and so much wonder. What will my life be like? Will I go to war? Will I ever be able
to meet a soul mate in this kind of career? These were just a few of the questions going through
my head. I did not have too much time to ponder; immediately upon my arrival to Georgia I
started learning to fly the T-6. My days consisted of flying, training, academics, chair flying,
simming, eating, going to sleep, and starting it all over again. Never any time to decompress, but
I was living out my dream.
Early in the summer of 2006, one of my questions I had was answered, Will I be able to
find a soul mate? There she was a woman like I had never seen before, the woman of my
dreams. Her name was Shannon, and she was and still is the most beautiful woman I ever laid
my eyes on. Time would only tell if it was a relationship meant to be since I had to leave shortly
off to my next duty station for more training. I was enjoying every minute I had left with her.
Though it was difficult, I had broken many promises and dates. Pilot training was and had to be
my life if I was going to make it to my dream.
The fall of 2006 came fast; I was now off to Dell Rio, Texas to further my training. After
six months of intense training I finally fulfilled my dream and pinned on my wings. I was now an
Tomaskovic 5

Air Force aviator. This was the beginning of my career as a pilot. For me, this was one of my
most valued accomplishments completed thus far. To sweeten the pot, during my time in Del
Rio, I was able to convince that Georgia peach to move across the country to be with me. Little
did she know it was all a ruse to keep her out of other mens clutches so that I could eventually
ask her to join my hand in marriage when the time was right.
Just as I got Shannon settled in Del Rio, once again it was time for me to leave for more
training that would last a month. Leaving her behind this time was even more difficult as we
continued to grow even closer; this was the second of many more times to come that I would
have to leave her behind. This training was water and land survival to include evasion, capture
and escape. I could not have any contact with the outside world; it was gruesome, but proof to
me and to my country that I was ready to serve and protect. The brunt of this training is highly
classified and I cannot go into further detail.
When I returned to Del Rio, Shannon and I packed up yet again and moved onto Altus,
Oklahoma. Altus is where I made my most memorable achievement that I can remember, and it
had nothing to do with my military career. I asked Shannon for her hand in marriage, and she
accepted. Since that day she has continued to be by my side through more ups and downs than
any woman should have to be subjected to.
My job in Altus was to become an expert in flying the KC-135R and it was an amazing
experience. The aircraft is capable of refueling any aircraft in the world. I learned every inch of
this plain and became an expert. My wife liked to call it the flying bomb due it being able to hold
over 100,000 pounds of fuel. Training complete, it was now time for the Air Force to send me
off to my first duty station, which is where I would begin to be sent off on missions, building my
Tomaskovic 6

skills in the tanker and supporting the war of terror in the Middle East. My new duty station was
located in Tampa, Florida. This would become our home for the next three years. Just as we were
packing up to move to Florida, my second most memorable accomplishment occurred; I found
out I was going to be a dad!
Tampa gave me so many memories that I will forever hold close to my heart. We gave
birth to our daughter Madison Gracie, which there are no words to explain that joy. In three years
I served five deployments to a forward location in the Middle East. While deployed, I flew over
140 combat missions supporting operations Iraqi freedom, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn.
During my time in Tampa I continued flying on training missions; I have been to almost every
state including Alaska and Hawaii. I have been to 11 foreign countries and flown over most of
the worlds oceans.
I have had an amazing time as a KC-135 pilot. Most of my flight time turned out
uneventfully. The mission was always the priority and was most often completed without
incident. However, there was one sortie which I will never forget. This sortie happened on my
third deployment. We had just departed our base on a mission set for Afghanistan when I noticed
something odd with our fuel panel while climbing up to altitude. The numbers were ticking down
faster than usual, and at the rate it was going we wouldnt have enough fuel to complete our
mission. The main concern was not our mission nor was the fact that we were losing fuel by the
thousands of pounds. The main concern was where the fuel going. Our forward body tank was
surrounded by our avionics and as most people know gas and electricity arent a good
combination. We always train for the worst possible situations and luckily this happened to be a
problem I have trained for in the simulator. Without hesitation, my training took over as if I was
a pre-programmed robot. I accomplished all appropriate emergency checklist steps in the
Tomaskovic 7

procedure and stopped the leak in a matter of seconds. We were still unsure of passable fuel in
our aircraft where it shouldnt be. We declared an emergency, dumped enough fuel into the air to
allow for a safe landing at our base, and landed uneventfully. Due to the heavy weight of our
aircraft with that large amount of fuel on board, the landing distance was too long to be fully
stopped by the end of useable runway. Once on the ground, Ill never forget my crew thanking
me for saving their lives. Later, after maintenance personal inspected the aircraft, they found a
stuck valve and faulty fuel pump which was siphoning the fuel out of our aircraft. Thankfully, it
never made it to avionics compartment because the outcome of that mission that day might have
been different.
On my last deployment in 2010, my commander notified me that I would be upgrading to
an aircraft commander and soon afterwards be leaving to Enid, Oklahoma to become an
instructor pilot in the T-6. When I returned from my deployment I moved my family to San
Antonio, Texas for a four month tour. Thereafter, we began the newest chapter of our life and
our journey to Enid. It was a sad moment in my career for many reasons. I was forced to
abandon an aircraft which I became an expert in to teach civilians how to become pilots just as I
did just several years earlier. We had to leave a city which we called our home for three years to
go to a place which no one in our family really wanted to go. The kids had to leave their friends
and their schools. My wife had to quit her job and start over.
Though it is painful moving so often for the military, it comes with its rewards. The
chance for a new beginning, meeting new wonderful people, experiencing a new location and
way of life, and a chance to excel in another aircraft were all reasons worth the effort. I have now
become an expert in a new air plane with the honor of passing on my knowledge and experiences
Tomaskovic 8

to a younger generation of military aviators. Being an instructor is the most rewarding job I have
had a privilege of doing.
I am now a Captain with a masters degree in homeland security and pursuing my next
rank of Major. Pinning on Major, hopefully, will become my latest achievement in my career
and will open a new door to many opportunities for me and my family, as well as allow me to
continue my career as an Air Force Officer and pilot.
John Tomaskovic has accomplished so many achievements and has so many more to
come. I am proud to call this man my husband and father to my children. He has filled my life
with so many stories and memories and I look forward to a lifetime more.













Tomaskovic 9

Portfolio Assessment
Name ____________________
Date ______________________
Use this form to assess each portfolio submission. It is important to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the
entire portfolio and to focus on progress.

Exceptional - 4 Commendable -
3
Acceptable - 2 Unsatisfactory - 1
Understanding of
content Is there
evidence that you
understood the topic
you were writing
about?
The topics that
were asked to
discuss I wrote
about very well

Evidence of Critical
Thinking Does this
piece reflect
thought?
I could have
added a little
more reflection
to my paper

Evidence of Content
Development
Should have
supported my
body paragraph
a little more

Evidence of Rich
Variety of Style
Does this piece of
writing reflect your
personality?
Yes, Explains
goes into what
weve been
through as a
military family


Evidence of
Grammatical and
Mechanical Control
Should have
proof-read,
and watched
my run-ons

Evidence of Self-
Assessment Is
there evidence that
you spent quality
time assessing this
sample before you
originally submitted
it?
This was a
lengthy paper,
Should have
read over it
more a couple of
times

Evidence of Best
Practice choice is
this the best writing
sample you could
provide?
Maybe not, the
best but one of
my favorite


Tomaskovic 10