Joining Air Force creates new life for Philippines native

Photo By Sandra Pishner | The first American Staff Sgt. Wyndell Bagaoisan, 36th Aerial Port Squadron, met when he came to the United States was his military training instructor. (U.S. Air Force Reserve photo by Senior Airman Madelyn McCullough)  

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

07.29.2014

Courtesy Story

446th Airlift Wing (AFRC)

By Senior Airman Madelyn McCullough,
446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. - Imagine coming to the United States for the first time, feeling excited and nervous about the new life you are about to start, then having a basic military training instructor be the first to welcome you to America.

This "terrifying experience" is exactly what a 446th Airlift Wing Reservist went through when he left Guam and joined the U.S. Air Force eight years ago.

"When I came stateside, the first person I met there was somebody twice my size," said Staff Sgt. Wyndell Bagaoisan, 36th Aerial Port Squadron cargo processing specialist. "When he was standing in front of me, I looked at him, but not directly in the eye, and I was smiling. I stuck my hand out to give him a handshake. That didn't turn out well."

The MTI yelled at him, as they traditionally do, and left him with an impression that Americans were mean, he said. It wasn't until a couple weeks later, after being around other trainees in his basic training flight, that he realized his first impression was wrong.

"I guess having my first experience with the TI in America was just plain bad luck," he said. "It wasn't very welcoming."

Originally from the Philippines, Bagaoisan was used to a culture of never looking someone directly in the eye unless to challenge them and believing every American was rich. His family moved to Guam when he was 4 years old. He spent each summer in the Philippines up until he was 10.

"I got naturalized as an American when I was 11 and, seven years later, I joined the U.S. Air Force," said Bagaoisan.

The Air Force offered him a way to build a better life.

"I really wanted to go to school, and I didn't want to go to school in Guam or the Philippines," he said. "One of my options was to join the military, so I decided to do active duty and I ended up becoming aircraft maintenance. I did school and active duty at the same time."

He spent nearly six years active duty and took evening college classes whenever he could.

"There were several instances when I was taking full-time classes and doing active at the same time," Bagaoisan said. "There were exercises that would come up that would force me to drop out of my classes, even when there was only a month left."

Eventually, he switched to the Air Force Reserve so he could focus on school. He switched to aerial port, because he wanted something less demanding than being an instrument and flight control systems specialist. Now, he is pursuing an Associate of Science degree at Cascadia Community College in Bothell, Washington, and intends to earn a bachelor's of global studies soon afterwards. Eventually, he plans to pursue a master's degree.

"I'm planning to stay in the Reserve at least long enough to finish college," Bagaoisan said. "I like the military. I owe a lot to it because when I joined, I was 18; I was really naive. The military taught me a lot about maturity and leadership."

The military also gave Bagaoisan a way to repay the U.S. for the new life it allowed his family.

"Since I was naturalized and I am the first person in my family to join the military, I feel like I'm giving back to America what they gave to my family," he said. "If my family never made it to America, they would still be suffering in the province where I'm from. When they moved to Guam, their life got better and we had a chance to earn a living there. It's not something that the Philippines could have given us. I feel like when I joined the U.S. military, it's like earning the right to live in the U.S. for my family."

Though the MTI may have left a bad first impression, Bagaoisan is very grateful for the life that the Air Force has given him, he said.

• Date Taken: 07.29.2014
• Date Posted: 07.30.2014 17:33
• Story ID: 137759
• Location: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US
• Hometown: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US