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Team Shaw Airman headed for officer training

  • Published
  • By Rob Sexton
  • 20th Fighter Wing public affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  From the Air Force Academy to battlefield commissions for initiative in combat, the Air Force offers Airmen more than a half dozen ways to exchange stripes for bars.

And for the first time in three years, a Team Shaw Airman has earned selection to Officer Training School. Oh, and along the way, changed countries and primary languages, earned United States citizenship, got married and brought a baby into the world.

Senior Airman Maribel Gonzalez-Artega has managed to pack all these accomplishments and more into just five years in the United States and only 33 months in the Air Force.

The medical logistics journeyman in the 20th Medical Support Squadron is originally from Medellin, Colombia.

It was a normal duty day for Gonzalez until her squadron commander, the medical group superintendent, her flight commander and a group of her co-workers walked into her duty section. Next, Lt. Col. Wendy Larson, 20th Medical Support Squadron commander, told Gonzalez she had been selected for OTS.

"I got very emotional," Gonzalez admitted. "Since the results were so unpredictable and the competition was so tough, I was stunned!"

Next, she said, "I realized I am much closer to meeting my main goal in the Air Force of becoming an officer."

Her husband, Juan Pablo Apolinar, is a former enlisted Soldier. "He was very confident that I was going to get accepted, so he wasn't surprised," Gonzales said, "but of course he was very happy and excited about all the changes that will follow my graduation from OTS." The couple has an 18-month-old daughter who will remain with Daddy while Gonzalez is an officer trainee for 12 weeks.

Located at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., the school's program, according to its website, is: "Basic officer training . . . consists of 12 weeks of military instruction and leadership development for college graduates leading to a commission as a second lieutenant."

Facing OTS in a few months (she doesn't have a reporting date yet), Gonzalez said she is, ". . . very excited. I feel mentally ready and I'm working hard to get physically ready. It is a big challenge, but I know I can do it."

Gonzalez' supervisor, Tech. Sgt. Christopher Graham, medical logistics NCOIC, said, "We knew that (a commission) was her goal. She is very motivated -- second to none. She's always willing to step up and get her hands dirty. She wants to learn."

When he heard the news of her selection he said, "I was impressed and excited for her."

Graham mentioned Gonzalez' excellence doesn't stop at the office. "She's very community minded," he went on. "She teaches a Spanish class on base and participates in base chapel programs."

He summed up, "I wish I had a lot of other Airmen like her."

Gonzales immigrated to the United States in 2007 from Colombia. Before emigrating, she earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the National University of Colombia and a master's degree in environmental engineering, from the University of Antioquia, Colombia. The Air Force intends to make use of her engineering education by placing her in a related field.

Learning is still on Gonzalez' horizon. She said she hopes to be able to acquire a doctorate in her field before the end of her Air Force career.

Still, when asked what accomplishment she is most proud of, Gonzalez thought a moment, and answered, "Being part of a new culture, including learning a new language, in such a short time."

She earned her American citizenship in August 2010.

The 20th Force Support Squadron's education center has the responsibility of helping Airmen who are pursuing a commission. Don Ellwood, Shaw's education officer, said staff member Bill Kaseman has the experience, expertise and commitment to invest in each Airman who wants to be an officer. Kaseman spent about nine hours with Gonzalez to make sure her application was "complete and superior" before she submitted it.

Ellwood urges any Airmen who want to find out more about becoming an AF officer to stop by the education center to talk to Kaseman or him about opportunities. The education office can be reached at 895-4716.

Commissioning programs include Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps' scholarships, the Airman Education and Commissioning Program, the Air Force Academy, and others for professions such as law, medicine and chaplains.