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By Airman 1st Class Laura L. Valentine
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. - Ten years ago, the men and women who are today's young service members, were still in grade school. Some were in high school, even fewer were enrolled in college. Many had no idea what the World Trade Center towers were, what the 9/11 attacks meant politically or the lasting impact the day's events would have on their lives.
The youth of 10 years ago are today's airmen.
Today's generation of airmen have joined the Air Force for a variety of reasons. The Air Force compiled a survey of the top three reasons cited for enlisting. Reasons include serving one's country, patriotism, or continuing one's college.
In seven out of the past 10 years, recruits have cited "patriotism" as a reason for joining, said Angelo Haygood, deputy chief of operations division for the Air Force, in a Sept. 3, 2011, Associated Press article.
But he's reluctant to say that Sept. 11 was the sole motivator for people to enlist in the Air Force.
"For those who were interested in joining, Sept. 11 gave them a confirmation that their decision was the right one," he said.
"On 9/11, both of my parents were in the Air Force, and when they deployed, I felt the pride," said Senior Airman Aris Livica, 22nd Aircrew Flight Equipment journeyman. "I felt that this country had given so much to my parents, I needed to give back to the country."
Livica joined the Air Force in 2009 after attending two years of college and has been at McConnell since completing technical training.
"I think airmen joining today are more willing to sacrifice than those before us," he said. "I give the utmost respect to today's airmen."
Airman 1st Class Juan Romero, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics specialist joined the Air Force in April 2010. He was in sixth-grade math class when the attacks happened.
With strong family ties to the military and an older brother who joined the U.S. Navy close to 9/11, Romero wanted to join the armed services long before the terror attacks, but 9/11 definitely made him "angrier" to join, he said.
"It's important to remember the impact of that day," he said. "People died just doing their job. If someone isn't impacted by that, I don't think they should be in the military."
Whether 9/11 was the reason someone decided to join the military or not, the long-lasting effects of that day have changed the ways of the military. Operation tempos are often high and a deployment may last longer than during the time of "your father's Air Force."
"Our military is 100 percent volunteer, so I feel like our airmen today really realize what they are signing up for," said Livica. "We sign up knowing we can be put in harm's way."
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2011 15:15 |
| Story ID: | 76902 |
| Location: | MCCONNNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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