INDIANAPOLIS – Twenty new recruits took the oath of enlistment in front of a crowd of thousands of NBA fans at halftime of a game between the Indiana Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs, Nov. 1.
The event was part of the NBA Cares Hoops for Troops initiative. Hoops for Troops is a joint effort between the NBA, Department of Defense and other military and veteran-serving organizations.
Carter Norris, a 17-year-old Navy future Sailor from Westfield, Indiana, was one of the four Navy future Sailors who took part in the event.
“Oh my gosh, it was insane,” Norris said. “Sitting in the seats you really don’t get a grasp of how many people really are there.”
Norris said he was partially inspired to join the Navy because of his stepbrother, who is an officer in the Navy. He said he’s eager to begin his new life in the Navy, but he has to finish high school first.
“I wish I could ship out sooner, but I have to graduate high school. If I could ship tomorrow I would,” Norris said.
There were 20 new recruits in total from the Air Force, Army, Army National Guard, Marine Corps and Navy who participated in the event.
Joseph Hamilton, a 25-year-old Navy future Sailor from Greenfield, Indiana, said the ceremony was a little overwhelming for him.
“Once we got on the court, I was kind of just looking forward and trying to be as professional as possible,” Hamilton said. “Once we actually did the swearing in, the whole crowd went crazy. That was really humbling. It was really cool.”
Hamilton credits the Navy for providing him the inspiration to change his life. About a year and a half ago, he said he was watching a video with his father about Navy special warfare training. The video inspired him to work toward making some changes in his life.
“I was about 280 pounds and I decided to start working out and cut a bunch of weight so I could do Naval Special Warfare. I ended up dropping about 80 pounds and then enlisted.”
The recruits were also given free seats to the game where they saw the Pacers get their second win of the season.
“The game was amazing,” Norris said. “I hadn’t been to an NBA game in a couple of years. So yeah, it was really fun.”
Hoops for Troops works to recognize members of the military community year-round.
The four Navy future Sailors worked with career counselors at Navy Talent Acquisitions Group Heartland, which runs recruiting operations for officer, enlisted and special programs throughout Michigan, Indiana and Northwest Ohio.
| Date Taken: | 11.02.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2021 09:18 |
| Story ID: | 408969 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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