Hurricanes host pre-game mass enlistment

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Erik Hofmeyer
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MIAMI, Fla. --  Nine new Homestead reservists raised their right hand and took the oath of enlistment into the Air Force Reserve on the Orange Bowl field during the pre-game festivities of the University of Miami vs. Georgia Tech football game on Saturday.

The enlistees marched out onto the 20-yard line minutes before kickoff along with 1st Lt. Katherine Easevoli, 482nd Fighter Wing executive officer, who read the oath over the PA system at the stadium.

Unfortunately, the Canes ended up losing the significant conference match-up against the Yellow Jackets, but cheers erupted from the stadium when Mako pilots flew over the stadium as the enlistees finished the oath.

"This was a first-time experience for me; I've never done anything like this before," said Luis Torres, a Miami resident among the enlistees.

Torres, whose goal is to become an optometrist, plans to take a hiatus from classes at Barry University to enter the Reserve to earn extra money for college and to gain experience as an optometry assistant with the 482nd Medical Squadron.

The 482nd Fighter Wing Recruting Office organized the event for several different reasons.

"We organized the event to honor the people taking the oath, to help raise public awareness of the Air Force Reserve, and to kick off the new recruiting year with a 'bang,'" said Senior Master Sgt. Alexander Vazquez, 482nd FW senior recruiter.

This was the biggest event that the recruiting office here has ever done, and the representatives from the University of Miami embraced our initiative and were a great help, Sergeant Vazquez said.