Relief effort hits home for Haitian-American Airman

Published Jan. 28, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Daniel Bowles
628th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- "Jan. 2, 2008 ... I remember it like it was yesterday," said Airman 1st Class Samantha Jean, recounting her first day in Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, Texas.

Her new uniforms would soon read, "U.S. Air Force," and for the young Haitian woman, now assigned to the 437th Aerial Port Squadron here, nothing could've made her prouder, she said.

Those who choose to enlist in the Air Force all enter basic training. Coming from many walks of life, they learn a whole new sort of walk and talk along the way. On graduation day, Airmen are born, but for Airman Jean it was a birth on foreign soil.

Having volunteered to serve a country she could not yet call her own, Airman Jean's journey toward American citizenship is marked by patriotism that spans two nations, offering her a unique perspective on a story of global compassion for Haiti as it continues to unfold.

Since the start of the relief effort, the 437th APS has been running full steam ahead to get anything arriving at their door processed, packed and loaded to save lives in Haiti, and Airman Jean sees a deep purpose in her place in the unit's packing and crating section during a critical time, she said.

"I never thought I would be a part of something like this. Not in a million years," she said. "It shows you can be a part of something no matter who you are ... its so amazing.

"I've come to understand it's not just a job. Its more than a job," she continued. "People don't stop and think that one Airman can make a difference, but they really can if they put their mind to what they're doing and focus."

Working hard through the days after the earthquake, Airman Jean received word from her mother her family members in Haiti were safe, but she knew the same was not true for other families. She said she feels inspired by the relief effort, and that its emotional ties run deep.

"It's a bittersweet moment that this is going on, but at the same time so much is being revealed for the good that I'm just overwhelmed," she said."On the inside I felt so emotional, I didn't think so many people from so many organizations would care about Haiti and the people ... I felt like the Air Force and the military was here to help those in need. It was very touching and I'm still kind of in awe about it."

Recently becoming an American citizen after two years in the Air Force, she takes great pride in her American future and her Haitian heritage, confidently describing herself as a Haitian-American.

"People would say to me, 'You're not a citizen? And you're military?' A lot of people couldn't believe that," she said. "I think it was all worth it. This [experience] is probably the most exciting thing that's happened since I've been here ... and after realizing what the Air Force is about, it just changed my whole perspective."

Now, she is officially an American; she is also Haitian, and in her journey between the two, she became an Airman.

"I'm a firm believer in God, and I know everything he does is for a reason," she said, following it with her favorite verse from the Bible; Ecclesiastes 3, Verse 1. "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven."

"People forget that America does have a heart," she said. "Regardless of what's going on with war and things like that, America does come together for a common cause when there's something that goes wrong, no matter where it is."