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160 Airmen Re-enlist at Selfridge

  • Published
  • By By TSgt. Dan Heaton
  • 127th Wing Public Affairs
SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. --  More than 160 Airmen in the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing have re-enlisted in approximately the past year. Many of those who re-enlisted were honored in a "You Make a Difference" ceremony during the July unit training assembly for the Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

Among those who re-enlisted was Staff Sgt. Curtis Runey, the lab noncommissioned officer in charge for the 127th Medical Group.

"I like the people I work with and I am proud of the accomplishments we've made as a group over the past several years," Runey said, just moments before receiving a certificate recognizing his re-enlistment.

Runey has about 11 years of total military service, originally serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a corpsman before joining the 127th.

The Wing is "honor-bound" to recognize those who have agreed to extend their service, said Chief Master Sgt. Keith Edwards, command chief for the 127th Wing.

"They give us a very major portion of their lives," Edwards said, adding that only about 0.07 percent of the American population serves in the Air National Guard.

Among those attending the ceremony in July were the members of the 127th Wing Student Flight, brand new Citizen-Airmen who are awaiting a training date to attend Air Force Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Thirteen of the Student Flight members were attending their very first UTA including new enlistee Kaitlin Hojna.

"Being in the military is something I have always wanted to do. I come from a military family," Hojna said, adding that both her parents, a grandfather and a number of cousins are all veterans.

Hojna, who graduated from high school just a few weeks prior to her first UTA, is slotted to work as a crew chief with the 127th. She plans to attend the NASCAR Technical Institute in North Carolina in addition to serving in the Air National Guard.