AFRS Airmen reflect on Veterans Day

Published Nov. 10, 2014
By Tech. Sgt. Hillary Stonemetz
Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- Veterans Day is celebrated November 11 and is an official United States holiday that honors people who have served in the military.

Airmen assigned to Air Force Recruiting Service reflect on their military service and what Veterans Day means to them.

Capt. Eumir Arceo, 364th Recruiting Squadron operations officer, enlisted in the Air Force in August 1995. He received his commission November 2006 and was a cyber operations officer before joining AFRS.

"Veterans Day to me is about remembering the men and women that came before me," he said. "They were the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen that fought for my freedom, and paved the way for my opportunity to serve."

As an immigrant from the Philippines, Arceo uses his experiences to connect with high school students.

"I was at a school, and the majority of the students that attended were from low-income families, and mostly immigrants," he said. "I told the students that I was once in their situation, and that I joined the military to give back, but instead I gained more."

He shared with them that the Air Force has provided he and his family with a secure future. Following his presentation he was approached by students and parents thanking him for being an inspiration.

"It was a very humbling experience," said Arceo who joined the Air Force to be part of the team that defends American freedoms

"The best part about being an Airman is that we inspire each other to be innovative. We reward people for thinking outside the box," he added.

Staff Sgt. Dorscilla Nenninger, 369th RCS enlisted accessions recruiter, enlisted in November 2008. Before she joined AFRS, she was a services specialist. For her, Veterans Day is a day of honor, remembrance and celebration.

"We are honoring and remembering those who are currently serving, as well as those who have served before us," she said. "It is also a day to celebrate our freedom and celebrate all of the men and women of our military."

Nenninger said she joined the Air Force to protect American freedom and be "a part of something bigger" than herself..

"What I like about being an Airman is constantly striving to live up to what it means to be an Airman," said Nenninger. "To me, that means always living by our core values and holding myself to higher standards. I believe that it is a prestigious honor to be able to be called an Airman, so I always try to be a person that someone can be proud of, which keeps me motivated."

As a recruiter, Nenninger helps change people's lives. Occasionally, she receives feedback from Airmen she recruited.

"I received a call the other day from an Airman that recently graduated and was calling to say thank you for helping change his life for the better," she said. "Moments like those are what make all of the hard work worth it."

For Capt. Carmen Sowers, 319th RCS support flight commander, Veterans Day is a day to thank all veterans and reflect on how they made a positive impact on her life.

"I have travelled to Washington, D.C. on four Honor Flights," she said. "I regularly get to thank WWII veterans for their service, but there are so many more individuals that need to be recognized. My brother is activeduty Army and I thank him for his service. I also thank family members for their sacrifice. They sacrificed time with their loved ones during long hours and deployments. Veterans Day means recognizing heroes that often don't like to be recognized as such but deserve it."

Sowers said she enjoys supporting recruiters and changing lives of recruits.

"Being in the Air Force has been a wonderful experience for me and I'm excited to think that thousands of civilians decide to join the Air Force based upon positive interactions with their recruiters," she said. "My support team provides the tools to recruiters to successfully perform their job, such as information technology equipment, vehicles, office spaces, etc."

Sowers joined Air Force ROTC her freshman year in college and was commissioned in 2004 as an acquisitions officer.

"I enjoy being part of the world's greatest Air Force," she said. "I also like having a career that I can be proud of. Finally, I like that as an Airman I'm more than an employee; I'm a Wingman, a supervisor, a leader, a follower, and a mentor."

Capt. Michael Crowl, Headquarters AFRS real estate and antiterrorism/force protection section chief, received his commission from Purdue University ROTC in May 2004. Before he joined AFRS, he was the Air Force Network deputy program manager and worked to develop the network Airmen use today.

For Crowl, Veterans Day is about honoring military members who have served in the past.

"I don't think Veterans Day is about the active duty personnel since our story is continuing to be written," he said. "But rather it's about those who have been honorably discharged. Veterans Day should especially be about honoring those that gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving, and to their family who lost their loved one."

Crowl joined the Air Force because he was "called to uphold the founding principles of the United States, that all men are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

"Our world is exponentially more chaotic than when our country was founded," he said. "The principles upon which the United States was founded, the liberties that we enjoy, our constitutional rights, must be defended. History has shown what unchallenged evil can do in the world, and because of the values set forth during the foundation of the country, I believe that the United States acts as a force for good. Serving in the military is one of the best ways to uphold those values."

One of Crowl's favorite memories of being an Airman is of his service as a ceremonial guardsman with the Patriot Honor Guard at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

"For four years, I had the solemn privilege to provide final honors to those that had served our country," he said. "Most of those that passed away were due to natural causes and those that were fallen heroes were especially difficult, particularly when handing the folded flag off to the next-of-kin."

As a Patriot Honor Guardsman he also represented the Air Force in the public eye. He marched in parades and presented the colors at professional sports games.