An Air Force family

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 307th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Barksdale AFB, La. --  When the Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force named July 2009 - July 2010, Year of the Air Force Family, the probably had no idea how far the Rodriquez family would take it, or how long it might actually last.

Being a part of an Air Force Family, Lt. Col. Rafael Rodriguez, a B-52 radar navigator assigned to the 343rd Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La, recently had the honor of enlisting his own daughter 2nd Lt. Beverly S. Rodriguez, into the Air Force at the health recruiter's office in Arlington, Texas, Feb. 16, 2011.

As his wife Sandy and a recruiter looked on, Colonel Rodriguez, recited the enlistment oath to his daughter as she began her own journey with the Air Force.

"I was honored to perform the swearing ceremony for my daughter," said Colonel Rodriguez. "I can still remember when she was 16-years-old and received the CMSGT Cheryl T. Denson Memorial Foundation Scholarship. I was proud of her then, and she is still making her mother and me proud today."

Lieutenant Rodriguez graduated as a registered nurse from Midwestern State University - Wichita Falls, Texas in Dec 2010, and is presently attending commissioning officer training (COT) at Maxwell, Air Force Base, Ala. Following COT, she will attend a 10-week Air Force Nurse Training Program at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., before reporting to the 96th Inpatient Operations Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where she will be assigned as a registered nurse.