Airman becomes citizen in Pentagon ceremony

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Senior Airman Cassandra Obermuller Brandon's grandmother set her straight.

For years, the Airman flip-flopped around the idea of becoming an American citizen. Born and raised in Linden, Guyana, the 28-year-old Air Force reservist still felt a connection to the warm, tropical land of her birth. But having lived in New York City since joining her father there in 1991, Senior Airman Brandon felt at home in the United States.

"While growing up, I split my time between the two countries," she said. "I spent the cold months with my family in Guyana, and the warm months in New York with my dad and family there. Going back and forth, I could identify with both countries."

However, as she became an adult, Airman Brandon knew she had a choice to make. Though her father is a citizen, the paperwork for her to become a citizen as a child was never submitted to the authorities. As an adult, she would have to go through the entire process, which includes tests, paperwork and interviews, to become a citizen -- a process she said seemed a little intimidating.

"It was my grandmother who summed it up for me," Airman Brandon said. "She said to me, 'You are not really Guyanese because you spent so much of your life in America. It is how you speak; how you think American.' It made me think. There is a basic difference between her and me. She really has that Guyana culture in everything she does, and I don't." 

With her grandmother's words of encouragement and the support of her husband, daughter and stepson, Airman Brandon, who is the full-time unit training monitor for the 69th Aerial Port Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., began the process of becoming an American. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that because of her six years in the military, her journey to citizenship was not as long or complicated as it is for those who never serve. The process was eased by an executive order signed by President George W. Bush on July 3, 2002. That order expedited the process for alien and noncitizen military members serving on or after Sept. 11, 2001. 

After she passed the standard citizenship test, her paperwork was completed in one day, allowing her to become one of the servicemembers naturalized during a naturalization ceremony April 14 in the Pentagon's center courtyard.

"That was big for me, to find out the ceremony would happen in the Pentagon," she said. "It's really the essence of the military -- the essence of our security, everything. It's the one place (the Sept. 11 terrorists) tried to kill, but couldn't."

For Airman Brandon, the Pentagon's connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack is also a personal one. She was in New York City that day, trapped by the panicked congestion of the city with her very-pregnant best friend.

"She actually went into labor that day," she said. "All the bridges in New York were (blocked). It was crazy, and we were like, 'You better hold onto that baby because we cannot get you to a hospital.' It just changed so much in my mind. How could we be in a position where we couldn't get the basic medical care we needed? It was scary to know we were put into that position. It was then I realized there is no place I care about like I care about America."

A week after her friend safely delivered her baby, Airman Brandon walked into a recruiter's office to join the Air Force. Six years and one deployment to Afghanistan later, she said she is confident her choice to serve was the right one, along with her choice to become a citizen.

"If you are willing to die for America, you should be willing to be an American to the truest extent of the word," she said. "I've seen how other countries live. I saw the poverty in Afghanistan. And in Guyana, there are some choices that are made for you, whether you like it or not."

During the ceremony, Maj. Gen. James W. Graves, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Reserve matters, spoke of his pride in those who become American, such as his wife, who is a naturalized citizen.

"My wife likes to remind me that there are Americans who made the choice to become Americans," he said. "We are indeed a greater country, stronger country, a better country today because of you."

Airman Brandon, who hoisted a small American flag in the air as she accepted her naturalization certificate, said that choice is what truly makes an American.

"It's the absolute freedom to choose that makes America so great," she said. "I consider myself an American every day, and this was a culmination. I have the paperwork to prove it now. I've earned the right to call myself an American."

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