Meet Your Military
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Air Force Senior Airman Carl Vanlandingham, 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structural journeyman, always knew he wanted to be a carpenter and welder.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Carl Vanlandingham, 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structural journeyman, works on a project at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, July 16, 2015. Vanlandingham builds various projects during duty and on his days off to support the mission. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cierra Presentado He said he was only 12 when he built his first project. He noticed he had a talent for working with his hands, he said, so he proceeded to experiment and build things throughout his young life. Ultimately, he decided to follow a three-generation family tradition and join the Air Force. As a civil engineer airman, he said he knew he would be able to deploy and make a difference doing what he loved.
Dream Job "I made the decision at a young age that this is what I wanted to do," Vanlandingham said. "From building a dog house to now building projects for the Air Force, I’m living my dream." Since being deployed here, Vanlandingham has worked on numerous projects, including building platforms for air conditioning units and a stand for the air traffic control tower. "We get many work orders to build things around the base," he said. "I always jump at the chance to build something new. It’s always exciting to see what the next project is going to be." During free time and days off, many airmen prefer to catch up on sleep or relax. Vanlandingham said he prefers to use his free time go to work and build things from scratch. "When I have down time, I really enjoy going to my shop and working on projects. It’s really relaxing to just build stuff with my hands," he said. "That’s what I like to do."
Read more: Meet Your Military: Civil Engineer Airman Builds Toward Dream
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Cadet Maggie Walstrom, left, takes charge of the 353rd Transportation Company formation after convoy operations July 11, 2015. Walstrom, an Army private with the 353rd and an ROTC cadet at Minnesota State University at Mankato, is serving as a platoon leader during the unit's convoy operation. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Victor AyalaLARAMIE, Wyoming: Some join the military out of a lifelong call to serve their country. Others join out of a long family tradition of service. Some are drawn by the chance to make a better life or see the world. For Maggie Walstrom, the decision came abruptly.
"I'd been talking to a friend in high school who had just gotten back from basic combat training," said Walstrom, a private in the Army Reserve's 353rd Transportation Company and an ROTC cadet at the Minnesota State University at Mankato. "At that time, I didn't know what I was going to do with my life. So, I was in the gym one day at school and said to myself, 'I'm joining the Reserve when I turn 17.'" Walstrom, a Buffalo, Minnesota, native, recalled telling her parents about the decision. "I told my mom, and she thought I was nuts," she said. "My whole family thought I was crazy."
Read more: Meet Your Military: Army Reservist Pursues Leadership
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Navy Lt. Cmdr. Carmelo Ayala presents his personal coin to Patricia Koether for her commitment and contribution in the Naval Hospital Bremerton internal medicine department in Washington state. Ayala has been an avid collector of coins during his 28-year naval career. He also has designed his own coin and routinely presents them to staff and beneficiaries. U.S. Navy photo by Douglas H. StutzBREMERTON, Washington: Some coins are simply worth more than money. Their face value is measured not in monetary worth, but with professional significance, personal sentiment and, at times, even historical relevance.
For Navy Lt. Cmdr. Carmelo Ayala, chief of the Naval Hospital Bremerton internal medicine department, the best example he can readily share is to reach into a uniform pocket and proudly display the commemorative coin of the 25th chief of naval operations, Navy Adm. Jeremy Michael Boorda. To Ayala, the coin’s worth lies in the fact that Boorda was the first sailor to rise up through the enlisted and officer ranks to become the Navy’s top officer. Ayala also started out as an enlisted sailor and has found his niche in the Navy Nurse Corps in his 28 years of naval service. “I just love getting and also giving coins. I have received a few over the years from mentors, hospital corpsmen, [independent duty corpsmen], Navy Nurse Corps officers and others,” the Camden, New Jersey, native said. “I am a firm believer that a coin is just a great way to say, ‘Thank you’ to someone for going that extra mile to help out.”
Read more: Meet Your Military: Coins a Priceless Commodity for Navy Nurse
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Army 1st Lt. Marcus Farris, quality assurance representative for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District, participates in a local triathlon in Fairbanks, Alaska, May 13, 2015. Farris is trying to earn his pro card, so much of his off-duty life consists of athletics and racing individually and for groups such as the All-Army Triathlon team and U.S. Military All-Endurance Sports teamJOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska, July 14, 2015 – Underneath his quiet and cool demeanor, Army 1st Lt. Marcus Farris is ready to be unleashed on race days. A disciplined athlete, he has trained for many hours to represent and compete as a member of the All-Army Triathlon team.
Farris, a quality assurance representative in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District’s construction division, said he realized his passion for running in high school in Huntsville, Alabama. As a cadet in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, he did lots of running to prepare for physical training tests. It wasn't long before he was attending Auburn University and, in his free time, participating in ultramarathons –- distances longer than the standard 26.2 miles. Now, Farris said, his lifestyle consists of athletics and racing individually and for groups such as the All-Army Triathlon team and U.S. Military All-Endurance Sports team. “There are some days that feel like workouts and some that feel like I am playing outside,” Farris, 25, described. “It is good to see that your training pays off now and again.”
Read more: Meet Your Military: All-Army Triathlete on the Road to Pro
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U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Edwin Maldonado, warehouse chief with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response- Central Command, facilitates logistics in Southwest Asia, July 11, 2015. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Garrett WhiteSOUTHWEST ASIA: Although some families can trace their heritage back to the days of the founding fathers, more recent arrivals often hear the call of duty just as keenly. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Edwin Maldonado emigrated from Honduras to Miami as a child, and now he continues a recently founded family tradition of service in the U.S. military.
“For the first five years of my childhood I didn’t know my mother or father because they had already moved to the United States,” said Maldonado. “In 1993, when I was about six years old, the rest of my family began to get their visas and we all moved to the U.S.” Maldonado said his cousins were the first members of his family to join the U.S. military.
“I always knew growing up I wanted to join the military, I just didn’t know what branch I wanted to join,” he said. “I had cousins that were already in the Navy and Army, but I wanted to do more than that, be better than them.”
Read more: Meet Your Military: Marine Serves His New Country