HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

SAN ANGELO, TX, UNITED STATES

09.28.2016

Story by Gary Jenkins 

17th Training Wing

TITLE: HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
DESCRIPTION: Goodfellow AFB Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
DATE: 1 September 2016
PRODUCER: Gary Jenkins
RT: 4:57
TITLES:
Col Alejandro Ganster, 17th Training Group Commander
Maj Pedro Jimenez, 17th Security Forces Sq. Commander
Lt Javier Colon, 17th Service Support Sq.
CMSgt Jesus Longoria, 312th Training Sq. Superintendent
SSgt Giovanna LaMaestra, 17th Training Wing Public Affairs

TV SCRIPT:
Narrator: IN HONORING HISPANIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH WE CELEBRATE MANY BACKGROUNDS FROM PEOPLE WITH MANY STORIES SERVING OUR NATION WITH DISTINCTION WITH ONE AMERICAN SPIRIT.
Col Alejandro Ganster: To everybody, welcome to the Hispanic American Heritage Month as we celebrate the contributions of our Hispanic community to this great country of ours.
CMSgt Jesus Longoria: Welcome to Hispanic Heritage Month. I’m Chief Master Sergeant Jesus Longoria, Jr., 312th Training Squadron Superintendent.
Maj Pedro Jimenez: Hi Goodfellow Air Force Base! Welcome!
Lt Javier Colon: Greetings! Welcome to the Hispanic Heritage Month.
SSgt Giovanna LaMaestra: Welcome to Hispanic Heritage Month! I’m SSgt Giovanna LaMaestra.
Col Alejandro Ganster: I tell ya, I have the best job in the United States Air Force. I have the privilege and the opportunity to serve the airmen, soldiers, sailors and marines that are going to be leading the fight not only in firefighting, but intelligence training and specialist from this station.
CMSgt Jesus Longoria: People from all great nations, not just Hispanics, they really enhance the mission with the diversity inclusion piece instead of like some companies do in the one dimensional world, we got that 3-D effect.
Maj Pedro Jimenez: My specific job is to keep protecting the base the mission can continue and we can keep supporting personnel around the world.
Lt Javier Colon: You know, Hispanic people treat themselves like family. It’s kinda like a crazy thing you know. We speak the same language, even though we have different accents, different backgrounds, different traditions and stuff like that. But we treat ourselves like family. And it is amazing how we get together. You can see a person’s last name or you can see his actions and stuff and you be like oop, yeah that person is Hispanic and you get that kinda family feeling with that people. So it is an amazing feeling having that.
SSgt Giovanna LaMaestra: I have a little heritage extending back to El Salvador. My mother was born there and grew up there. My grandmother and great grandmother and their side of the family they were all born there and grew up there. And it’s not just in El Salvador. My grandfather was born in the Canal Zone. And his grandfather and father worked on the actual building of the Canal.
Maj Pedro Jimenez: If you compare my job duty title with for example, the Chief of Police duty title, it will be similar to me being the Chief of Police for Goodfellow and the Chief of Police for San Angelo. So their job and our job is equally important and is similar in nature because they’re providing service to the community.
SSgt Giovanna LaMaestra: Being in the Air Force has provided me the opportunity to earn my associates degree through the Community College of the Air Force. And it put me in a unique position where I’m usually behind the scenes working and this time I was up on stage in front of the cameras and in front of some of our photo journalists being the subject and having photos and video cameras in my face and being asked what it was like getting my CCAF.
Col Alejandro Ganster: Nowhere else in the Air Force can an individual like me have the opportunity to affect not only career fields, but the lives of so many service members that are serving the nation. And I think that’s particularly important to me because coming from a diverse background this is what we see here and where we draw from the variety of experiences, heritage, races, religion, put all that together to provide the best again, airmen, soldier, sailor, marine to defend the nation. The power of putting all of that together is really what makes us the strongest nation in the world and I am privileged to be here as a result of it.
Narrator: AND SO WE CELEBRATE NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN EXCELLENCE THROUGH DIVERSITY.

• Date Taken: 09.28.2016
• Date Posted: 09.28.2016 16:54
• Story ID: 210865
• Location: SAN ANGELO, TX, US