National Hispanic Heritage Month

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Airmen from Travis Air Force Base recite the Oath of Enlistment in Spanish, Oct. 15, 2021. In order of appearance: Master Sgt. Rafael Hernandez, 349th Air Mobility Wing first sergeant, Staff Sgt. Karen Ussorio, 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron AE technician, SSgt Fernando Trejo, 821st Contingency Response Support Squadron air transportation, SSgt Edgardo Acosta Ponce de León, 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron airlift requirements planner, MSgt Joseph Guzman, 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels operations section chief, Senior Airman Karissa Rodriguez, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron engineer technician, and Airman 1st Class Natalia Gonzalez Cortes, 60th CES engineer tech.

National Hispanic Heritage Month ends, culture celebrated every day

U.S. Air Force Chief Master. Erick Fierro, 60th Air Mobility Wing interim command chief, gives opening remarks during the National Hispanic Heritage Month Closing Ceremony Oct. 15, 2021, at Travis Air Force Base, California. National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. (U.S. Air Force photo by Nicholas Pilch)

National Hispanic Heritage Month ends, culture celebrated every day

Published Oct. 15, 2021
By Nicholas Pilch
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Airmen at Travis Air Force Base, California came together to commemorate and celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with a closing ceremony, Oct. 15, 2021.

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Araiza, 89th Airlift Wing command chief, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, sent a video as the key note. He spoke about his time as an airman and shared a personal experience about when he was left cleaning while everyone else in his shop took a break to play cards — he felt Airmen could all learn from this scenario. Araiza used the story to educate the crowd on inclusion and emphasized that if Airmen see situations similar to his, where he was left out, use our voice to speak up because we are better together, he said.

CMSgt. Erick Fierro, 60th Air Mobility Wing interim command chief, welcomed all who attended and reminded everyone that although this is the end of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we can celebrate our heritage every day.

“Reconnection is the key word when we come together for these types of events,” said Fierro. “These celebrations bring us back to our heritage and predecessors.”

National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

If you’d like to learn more about this story and others like it, visit https://www.travis.af.mil/Information/Diversity-and-Inclusion/