Photo By 1st Lt. Kali Gradishar | U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Eric Gazola, New Horizons Tactical Operations Center officer in...... read more read more
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BELIZE CITY, Belize - Growing up, Eric Gazola was encouraged to have an open mind and a worldly view. As a U.S. Air Force first lieutenant he has been able to continue his worldly education working as the New Horizons Tactical Operations Center officer in charge in Belize.
"I was born and raised in the U.S., but I was always encouraged to have a global perspective," said Gazola, deployed from the 820th RED HORSE Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. "My undergraduate degree is in International Relations with a concentration in Middle Eastern Affairs, and my masters degree is in Diplomacy with a concentration in Terrorism Studies.
"We may be the greatest country in the world, but there's another side to the story than just the American side," he said, and it's important to learn both.
The lieutenant has continued expanding his knowledge with his experiences in the Air Force, a journey that started for him two years ago.
"From a young age, I always knew I was going to join the Air Force. I just needed to decide at some point whether to enlist or commission. I decided to go to school on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. That was more of a career choice and looking at what I wanted to do in the long run," said Gazola, a native of Sacramento, Calif. "Part of me joined for the education benefits, but I also want to feel like I'm serving my country."
Whatever Gazola decided to do in life, he knew he would have to put forth all his effort to succeed -- another lesson his parents instilled in him, he said.
"Part of that I learned just from my parents' history," explained Gazola, whose parents immigrated to America from Brazil 1985. "When they came to the U.S., they didn't speak English and didn't have money. Both of them worked hard, went to school, learned the language and became American citizens.
"They are both now very successful," he said proudly. "They taught me you had to work hard for what you want in life."
With Brazilian parents, Gazola grew up speaking Brazilian Portuguese at home and English outside of the home. He furthered his multi-lingual abilities after spending 10 months as a foreign exchange student in Mexico where, among other things, he learned Spanish.
The lieutenant has been able to travel, but New Horizons Belize 2014 is his first deployment. New Horizons is a multi-faceted exercise geared toward offering mutual training opportunities in the civil engineering and medical fields, as well as their support functions.
"I knew this was going to be a lot of work," Gazola said of the New Horizons mission and working behind the scenes in the TOC, "but I knew it would also be a lot of fun. It's nice to get the chance to leave something behind to enable young Belizeans to go to school and become successful."
Gazola said he appreciates the humanitarian nature of his first deployment, but looks forward to other adventures while serving in uniform.
"For the foreseeable future, I'll be staying in the Air Force," Gazola said, "and I'm definitely considering staying for a 20-year career.
"I love the military," he added. "It's given me a great life."
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2014 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 133699 |
| Location: | BELIZE CITY, BZ |
| Hometown: | SACRAMENTO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 444 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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