Photo By Tech. Sgt. Kelly Greenwell | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Ramirez Torres stocks the beverage...... read more read more
GOLDWATER AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ariz. --
Imagine wanting something your entire life, only to attain it as the world spins into chaos. This was the case for Airman First Class Elizabeth Ramirez Torres of the 161st Force Support Squadron, who graduated Air Force Basic Military Training on March 13, 2020; the same day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
For Ramirez Torres, making it through BMT was about more than becoming an Airman; it was in an important step towards accomplishing her dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. As a child she had moved to Arizona from Mexico with her family and after many years of determination, her chance to make her dream a reality had finally arrived.
“You work so hard to get somewhere and then when you finally get there, the turnout is absolutely not how you were expecting it and the world is upside-down. It was a serious ‘whoa’ moment.” said Ramirez Torres.
While there was some mention of the novel coronavirus during training, the recruits were largely cutoff from the outside world. With the designation of a pandemic and the concern for everyone’s health and safety, the decision was made to close graduation to the public. It was a bitter-sweet moment for Ramirez Torres, as her family would not be allowed to witness the day she worked so hard to reach.
“We went into the auditorium in our blues and the General briefed us about what to expect,” Ramirez Torres said. “I had wanted to do this my whole life and I felt so accomplished. It’s a big thing and suddenly all you have are the people you’ve been with during training and that becomes your family. For me that was a reality check—this is the real thing, like this is what I signed up for.”
The day after graduation, A1C Ramirez Torres and her fellow graduates left for their respective technical training where they immediately recognized how different the world had become.
“We got to the airport and there was hardly anyone there. On the flight, it was maybe 4 or 5 civilians and the rest of us were military.”
Upon arriving to her technical training school at Fort Lee, Virginia, supplies were difficult to come by and Ramirez Torres remembers ordering masks that would never arrive. The supply shortages happened so quickly that students had to make do with what they had, making masks out of spare uniform fabrics and paperclips.
“At one point I was just talking to someone and he expressed how tired he was and we shared how crazy the times were,” Ramirez Torres said. “I really felt for him so I gave him coffee and in return he gave me a mask.”
Since completing technical training in April 2020 and returning home to Arizona, Ramirez Torres has been on full-time active duty orders with the state’s COVID-19 Response mission, serving the community that made it possible for her to be where she is today.
“I call it the ‘whoa effect’. There have been so many moments since joining where I just can’t believe everything we’ve gone through.” said Ramirez Torres; the biggest of which took place when she officially became a U.S. Citizen on March 12, 2021.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2021 17:18 |
| Story ID: | 404743 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 212 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Whoa Effect: Becoming an Airman during a Pandemic, by TSgt Kelly Greenwell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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