Patrick Ikua grew up in Kenya with a dream of escaping poverty and terrorism.
As a young man, he had admired the U.S. Air Force and longed to be part of them.
Speaking to DVIDS, Ikua said while still in Kenya at the age of 17, he was trained by members of the U.S. Air Force.
The visiting Airmen were on a mission to help educate and train Kenyans in disaster management in the event of a major incident such as an act of terrorism.
“I felt I wanted to be like them one day, the support the Air Force gives to other countries, enabling change within them, inspired me a lot. I wanted to be part of an organization that brings change to humanity,” Ikua said.
Ikua said the U.S. Air Force helped Kenyans during a time when terrorism was a big problem facing the country.
“Growing up in Kenya, we have a U.S. military base there, every now and then you get to see them helping out in times of terrorism, trying to prevent terrorism, and that makes me feel like the impact they have on the universe, not just even the U.S. They are not just fighting terrorism in their county, but countries like Kenya as well,” he shared.
Joining the U.S. Air Force was not an easy task for Ikua as immigrating from Kenya made things hard for him.
“When meeting with the recruiter, I learned the process of what it took to join the Air Force, being a foreigner, it is a long process due to security and background checks. It took me almost two years to get in. There were times I almost wanted to give up and was second-guessing my decisions,” he said.
Ikua did not give up on his dream and with the support of his recruiter he managed to join the Air Force and is currently a senior airman.
Ikua is a vehicle maintainer, assigned to the 910th Logistics Readiness Squadron and works on various vehicles and machines to help keep Youngstown Air Reserve Station running.
The Kenyan-born airman is grateful to the U.S. Air Force for saving his life and making his family live in a peaceful country.
He is also grateful for getting U.S. citizenship thanks to the Air Force which he says has given him freedom and opportunity he couldn’t get in Kenya.
“I am happy to be an American right now, this country has given me a lot to be proud of and I am happy the Air Force helped me with getting my citizenship in order,”
“I don’t even feel like I have given enough back; I should give more back to this country,”
“I now live in a peaceful society, my child goes to school and doesn’t have to worry about WHETHER she will be able to go. If I still lived in Kenya I wonder if I would even be alive today,” Ikua said.
Ikua added that the U.S. Air Force is the best in the whole world and getting the opportunity to serve cannot be taken for granted.
