Airman serving country now finally U.S. citizen [Video]

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When Regina Trivette moved to America at the age of 14, she thought of the country as the “land of milk and honey.”

She moved from the Philippines with her father and brother to join her mother, who was already here.

“I always wanted to come to America, but never in my mind did I think that I would be an American citizen,” Trivette said.

In fact, Trivette would wait years for that to happen, first following in her husband’s footsteps by joining the Air National Guard.

“After being a military spouse for a while, I’ve decided, you know, I’m tired of you leaving me, I’d like to go and join the fun, and I’ve had fun ever since,” Trivette said.

For three years, Senior Airman Trivette served her country while not being able to claim it as her own. That was the case until Wednesday

Trivette took an oath of U.S. citizenship along with about 245 other people from more than 60 different countries.

“It’s like a rebirth, just totally brand-new day, and it’s a world of opportunities out there for Americans,” she said.

Trivette’s husband, Thomas, and other fellow airmen from the 134th Air Refueling Wing at McGhee Tyson were there to support Trivette.

“She’s obviously cared enough about this country to serve in her nation’s military, so taking this final step of becoming a naturalized citizen is just a huge – a big day for Regina and a big day for us to come support her,” Major Jason Brock said.

Trivette says she’s always felt like an American, so her life won’t change much. However, now she can call it official, and now she can vote.

“I’m just proud to be an American,” she said. “I can actually say that now. I’m proud to be an American, and I’m proud to fight for the country, I really am.”

Read more and watch this great story: Airman serving country now finally U.S. citizen

A life of giving: Guardsman saves lives during Katrina and in Iraq [Video]

U.S Navy Captain Robert Lansden recently dropped in on a kindergarten class in Basra, Iraq.

“I want to thank them for being such beautiful children,” he told a translator.

The children may not realize it, but Lansden played a vital role in the rebuilding of their classrooms.

For Lansden, a naval reservist, it’s been an unlikely journey that began on August 29th, 2005. The day Katrina hit his hometown of New Orleans, Lansden was captain of the U.S.N.S. Pollux, a merchant marine ship docked on the riverfront for repairs.

“I knew the city,” he recalled. “I was from there. I knew the high ground from the low ground.”

The Pollux happened to be marooned in New Orleans as Katrina roared ashore, undergoing repairs. Its engines were out, but it was loaded with several hundred thousand gallons of diesel fuel and fresh water. In a city that could not function, the Pollux was an island of modern convenience.

“I saw my own city destroyed,” Lansden remembers, “and I worked really hard to help bring that city back up.”

Only miles from the Pollux, the situation at West Jefferson Medical Center was in sharp contrast. For days, the hospital staff and patients suffered with no electricity and no running water.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Robert Lansden showed up at the hospital, offering help.

“I was blessed to have that ability and to have ridden through the storm, to already be there,” he says.

Lansden got permission from his navy bosses to share his supplies: diesel, water, even the ship itself. Dialysis machines and close to a dozen dialysis patients were actually loaded up from West Jeff and driven to the Pollux.

After the Katrina experience, Lansden volunteered for duty in another country in need of rebuilding. Today, he is director of CMOC, the U.S. Army’s Civil Military Operations Center, which rebuilds roads, schools and public buildings in some of the most dangerous areas of Iraq.

Read more and watch this great story about a great man — a true hero: La. National Guardsman saves lives during Katrina and in Iraq