WATCH: TSgt. Brandon Shaffner Talks About How Playing Cocoa Tiger Football Prepared Him for Military Service

'SIT DOWN WITH STEVE'

WATCH: Brandon Shaffner, born and raised in central Florida, graduated from Cocoa High School in 2008, and like many young people, didn’t know what he wanted to do after graduation. Shaffner, now a U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, could not be happier with his decision.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brandon Shaffner, born and raised in central Florida, graduated from Cocoa High School in 2008, and like many young people, didn’t know what he wanted to do after graduation.

After taking one semester at Eastern Florida State College, he decided to make a drastic change and enlisted in the United States Air Force.

Shaffner, now a Technical Sergeant stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, could not be happier with his decision.

It has given him the opportunity to travel the world multiple times, meet people that he never would have met, and just overall has made him a better person.

A former football player at Cocoa High School, Shaffner leaves no doubt that playing the sport he loved helped prepared him for the military.

And, it didn’t hurt that he had the good fortune to play for two Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame coaches – Gerald Odom and John Wilkinson.

Shaffner talked about the tremendous amount of preparation it takes in football to lead to the results on the field that his coach expected.

“If I want to prepare for one aspect of my job, I know how I have to prepare for it,” said Shaffner.  “The level of excellence and the standard that Coach Wilkinson held us to is almost the same as the Air Force holds you too. It is a very high level of excellence.”

Shaffner has now been in the Air Force for 11 years and loves what he does.

When asked what he would tell a young person thinking about a career in the military, he said, “It is a great, great opportunity. It is very rewarding. It’s not for everybody, but if you go into it with an open mind, it will pay off ten-fold.”

Similar Stories