To (belatedly) inaugurate the new year, I'll throw myself out there with the other recent new guys and their respective posts on this forum.
My decision to join the 506th was a spur-of-the-moment thing after returning from Christmas break, though it was thanks in no small part to a large amount of lurking and video watching beforehand. So, seeking to indulge my interest in something more serious than what I had experienced so far in Arma, I thought I'd send in an application, and then put myself through the training pipeline.
To now engage in the obligatory biographical info, I lived in Maryland up until 2014, when I moved to Wisconsin (where I am now attending college). My interest in the 506th now is probably thanks (in part) to my own family; my paternal grandfather was a radar operator in the Korean War, and after returning to the States he decided to pursue aviation as a hobby. This was passed down from him to my father, and from my father to me, as one of the first games I ever played (as a decidedly ineffectual 5-year-old) was a WWII flight simulator. Somewhere along the line, I picked up the demo for Arma Combat Operations, and I was hooked. Been a fan of the series ever since, and I bought Arma 3 back during the alpha.
I could say more here, and could probably go on for hours/pages, but I think I'll save it for later (or for if anyone has some more specific questions). It's good to be here, and I look forward to getting to know everyone else. Thanks, all.