Photo By Samuel King Jr. | Col. Andrew Morgan, an astronaut and Soldier aboard the International Space Station,...... read more read more
Subscribe
Clad in Army black and gold, 30 Future Soldiers stood up and began to recite the enlistment oath Feb. 26 at the 6th Ranger Training Battalion’s Camp Rudder here.
More than 250 miles above, Col. Andrew Morgan, a NASA astronaut and Soldier, issued the oath via video link on the International Space Station.
The unique opportunity was part of a large-scale enlistment by U. S. Army Recruiting Command and NASA. More than 1,000 Army recruits at approximately 150 locations followed Morgan’s words taking the oath in unison.
“It’s really a great honor to administer the oath of enlistment from this magnificent spacecraft,” Morgan said, while traveling 17,000 mph in the ISS.
Morgan shared his Army story with the local Future Soldiers. He told the new recruits before he was an astronaut, that he was a Soldier first.
“I made the decision when I was 18 to raise my right hand just as you are about to,” he told the captivated recruits. “I’m still a Soldier serving in space, the ultimate high ground.”
Morgan is a combat veteran with airborne and ranger tabs, who also served as a combat diver. As an astronaut, he completed seven spacewalks and one space flight to the ISS. He is there now on a nine-month tour of duty.
After administering the oath, Morgan took questions from the Future Soldiers. One of which, came from Fort Walton Beach recruit, Matthew Coffee. His question was, ‘What is the most surprising thing about being in space that you have learned?’
“When you see our social media, it always looks like we’re having a good time,” Morgan said answering Coffee’s question. “And that is true. We are often having a good time, but it’s also very difficult.”
Morgan went on adding that sometimes it is very stressful. He compared his experience to a military deployment, with missing loved ones and other stressors, but in the end, it is all worth it.
Before signing off, Morgan did a back flip in his zero-gravity environment and held up little flags that floated in front of camera. When the 20-minute broadcast began, the ISS was over the Pacific Ocean. When it ended, Morgan and crew were somewhere over the continental United States.
Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis, USAREC deputy commanding general, facilitated the ceremony and question-and-answer session with Morgan. He said watching the “space” enlistment was the most amazing thing he’s witnessed in his 30-year career.
"This is the first event of its kind and allows us to show the nation the breadth and depth of opportunities the Army offers today's youth," said Michaelis.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2020 13:21 |
| Story ID: | 364044 |
| Location: | EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Local Future Soldiers receive enlistment oath from orbiting astronaut, by Samuel King Jr., identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
