GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Flags waved and balloons were blown as a celebration honoring seven airmen who were naturalized as U.S. citizens was held July 7, 2023, here. The celebration provided airmen a venue to share their journey to U.S. citizenship with members of the base community. It was intended to renew their sense of pride in their accomplishment, highlight their journey in the Air Force and how it aided them in becoming U.S. citizens.
The celebration began with a speech by Col. Delbert Rivera, the vice commander for the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, welcoming the honorees. Then, the names of each airman were announced, and they each ran up to the stage as their wingmen cheering them on. Rivera then presented them with a certificate and congratulated them. The celebration highlighted each airman and their country of birth.
Airman 1st Class Akwasi Owusu Ampomah, maintenance apprentice for the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron, was excited at the prospect of being able to go overseas and deploy.
“When I joined I wanted to deploy, I wanted to go overseas but because I wasn’t a citizen I wasn’t able to,” said Ampomah. “From now on I can deploy and go overseas, so I’m ready for that.”
Airmen who have not been naturalized are not able to deploy until they become U.S. citizens, restricting them to stateside assignments.
The other honorees reciprocated the feeling of being ready for the future as they felt it would be a chance to learn and grow even more. The ability to travel is often the most exciting prospect for new airmen joining the service, and now they have an opportunity to serve at overseas assignments and receive deployments.
“The military has given me so much, I just want to give some back,’’ said Airman 1st Class Dipesh Tiwari, management technician for the 319th Force Support Squadron.
Airmen undergoing the naturalization process are also unable to vote in official elections until they become U.S. citizens.
“It’s important to be an American for me because I was a resident for so long and not able to vote and now that I’m a citizen I can vote and I’m just more at home here,” said Senior Airman Jade Budionganon, electrical apprentice for the 319th CES.
The process for being naturalized is lengthy but described as relatively straight forward by Budionganon. All the honorees navigated the naturalization process that involved many different types of paperwork, but the main hardship he described was waiting for it to be processed.
“It was pretty straightforward, you fill out forms and either submit it by mail or you can do it online,” said Budionganon. “The only problem is waiting.”
According to Budionganon, the Air Force is very supportive and helpful to residents seeking naturalization. He felt he had no issues and was uplifted by his peers and leadership throughout the process. The other six airmen shared his sentiment, expressing that the Air Force is very supportive of immigrants and those trying to attain their U.S citizenship through the military.
After the airmen received their certificates, Rivera gave a speech honoring the airmen and sharing his own story of being naturalized U.S. citizen.
“There’s something to be said about how hard it is to leave all your families and travel hundreds or thousands of miles for what you believe is better life,” said Rivera. “It takes a lot of strength.”