Photo By Staff Sgt. Jacob Derry | Airman 1st Class Galyna Cole, a financial operations technician assigned to the 47th...... read more read more
An immigrant from Ukraine recently joined the U.S. Air Force as a way to serve her new country.
Airman 1st Class Galyna Cole, a financial operations technician assigned to the 47th Comptroller Squadron, moved to the U.S. two years ago from Simferopol, Crimea. While in Crimea, she lived under the Soviet Union, Ukraine, and then finally Russia throughout her life.
Cole visited the U.S. multiple times, and eventually gained residency with a green card.
“I really liked the country from the first time I visited and I realized this is where I really wanted to be,” said Cole. “I believe there’s a lot of good here, and that it’s my place.”
Always having an interest in airplanes, Cole looked into the Air Force in hopes of becoming a pilot, she said.
“I always thought the Air Force was just about flying, but I learned there’s actually a lot more [options] available, as it turned out. The more I found out, the more interested I became. It just felt like it was the right thing for me.”
After making her decision, Cole reached out to her local recruiter to begin the process of joining the Air Force.
“I joined because I really wanted to serve this country,” said Cole. “Being an immigrant, that means a lot to me. I had many obstacles in my journey and I could've given up a long time ago. I caught myself thinking, ‘Is it really worth it?’ but in the end it was and I really feel it was a great choice.”
Without having U.S. citizenship, the process to join the military can be more challenging, however that didn’t deter Cole from serving, said Master Sgt. Leo Knight-Inglesby, enlisted accessions recruiter assigned to the 311th Recruiting Squadron.
“At the end of the day it’s about changing somebody’s life,” said Knight-Inglesby. “It wasn’t a difficult process but it was a lengthy one. It makes it all worth it when they come back home and say ‘Thanks for what you did’.”
After working with Cole, Knight-Inglesby knew the type of Airman she would become.
“One of the topics we focus on that makes us a successful Air Force is the resiliency of our service,” he said. “I knew shortly after meeting Galyna that she faced tremendous obstacles in her life, I knew she battled to get to where she is today. She’s resilient, prideful, and overall just a wonderful human being who is absolutely going to make the Air Force better tomorrow than it is today.”
Cole’s first assignment in her Air Force journey will be to Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, where she’ll also begin her application for U.S. citizenship.
| Date Taken: | 01.04.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2023 16:07 |
| Story ID: | 439400 |
| Location: | WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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