An officer entered and said he was going to administer the Oath of Enlistment to all of us. I stood in a room with at least 40 or 50 other people, all standing at what we called 'attention,' facing the front of the room. I was at Fort Jackson, South Carolina going through my preparations to enlist in the U.S. I distinctly remember being administered the oath 28 years ago, almost as if it was just yesterday. While it is part of the ceremony it is far more than a simple gesture or a formality to get through before the document signing if reenlisting or the refreshments after the ceremony. I think some view it as a ceremonial gesture. This is a joyous occasion, either we are continuing our service or maybe receiving our next promotion. We often reaffirm the oath during reenlistments for enlisted members and during promotions for enlisted and officers.

But I wonder if some of us who say those words that form the oath fully embrace what they mean and do we let them guide our military service. It forms the bedrock of what we stand for and are willing to fight for. Immediately I thought to myself, the oath is a major part of who we are in the military. The other day I was reviewing Air Force Instruction 1-1, Air Force Standards, when I came across the Oath of Enlistment. 'It is a great place to have an event like this, and to continue to do it would speak volumes for the community that surrounds us that gives us so much support.LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. 'The fact that this is the first-of-its-kind event here at the museum is awesome,' Grigorian said. The Air Force Armament Museum has been open since the spring of 1971 and, until Saturday, has never seen an event to mark the beginning of military service. Those feelings all came back while staring at these recruits.' 'The emotions of commissioning and what that meant to me. 'It reminded me of the day I was commissioned in December of 2002,' Grigorian said.

Military Industry: Boeing completes expansion to Fort Walton Beach facility that repairs landing-gear systems Veteran Care: Victory Village, community for retired military personnel, gets $2M to purchase land Next came the delivery of the oath of enlistment.Īs the 35 future Airmen and Guardians rotated 180 degrees, and as an SR-71 Blackbird loomed behind them, Grigorian led as each enlistee raised their right hand and took the oath to serve.

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