Lt. Aric \u201cBoogie\u201d McGee enlisted in the United States Navy as an 18-year-old, just as he felt his life beginning to spiral out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing up without a father in the picture, the young McGee relocated often with his single mother as the family struggled to make ends meet. Bouncing from apartment to apartment, from school to school, McGee eventually came to a crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had grown tired of instability and kind of had this gut-wrenching feeling that, this is wrong, you are going down the wrong path in life,” McGee said in the seventh episode of a Navy documentary series, \u201cFaces of the Fleet,\u201d a project \u201cthat shares stories of family, responsibility, duty and second chances,\u201d the series description<\/a> says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each expertly-produced episode, the first of which debuted early this year, features a compelling story of an everyday sailor. Episode seven highlighted the life of McGee, whose first taste of the military was through hearing stories about the heroics of his elder cousin, Charles McGee, a Tuskeegee Airman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But while the younger McGee admired the incredible accounts of aviator heroism, seeing himself as someone who was capable of becoming a pilot seemed infeasible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think about statistically, your background, your struggles. People like you don\u2019t make it that far…don\u2019t make it to be pilots,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, as an 18-year-old, McGee decided to go enlisted and join the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI remember checking in to my first squadron as an electrician. I walked into the hanger bay and I just remember the smell of the jet fuel and the oil and the grease. I knew I was where I was supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the sense of belonging McGee felt in his new gig, the long-shot ambition of one day following in his cousin\u2019s footsteps as a pilot never completely faded. Before long, McGee saw an opportunity and jumped at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI immersed myself into it,\u201d he said in the video. \u201cI studied it. It became my craft. You really just gotta commit to the idea. That\u2019s how you make things happen for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, he is now Lt. McGee, a 17-year Navy veteran flying MH-60R helicopters tasked with anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance and search and rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve gone through stages where the initial time in my service was more about me,\u201d McGee said in the episode. \u201cOnce I kind of established that for myself, and goal-setting, then I transitioned more into, \u2018How do I be a good leader? How do I set a good example for other people to follow?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good leadership is something McGee\u2019s elder cousin has developed a thorough familiarity with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think all of us have desires and goals that lead us in our growth and in our relationships,” said retired Col. Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskeegee Airmen. \u201cWhat you do is not only for yourself. It\u2019s for your family. Your family is for your community. Your community should be for your country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLife is a blessing,\u201d he added. \u201cDon\u2019t let circumstances be your excuse for not achieving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n