Turkish native enlists, returns home

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Melissa Phillips
  • 39th Air Base Group Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (AFPN) --  An airman here has known what he wanted to do ever since he was a small boy growing up in a middle-class neighborhood near Balgat Air Base in Ankara, Turkey.

Staff Sgt. Erim Celik, a contract specialist assigned to the 39th Contracting Squadron, wanted to live the American dream. There was only one problem. He was not born under the “red, white and blue,” nor were his parents U.S citizens.

His mother told him that he would stare with wonder at his neighbors across the street, who were American airmen stationed at the base.

“They all seemed like they were having so much fun. They were sharp and clean, and so orderly,” recalled Celik, who still proudly maintains his Turkish citizenship.

Although he grew up in a fortunate family, Celik said life in Turkey can be hard.

“The educational opportunities aren’t always there, and life can be a struggle,” he said.

He knew the first step to achieve his dream was education. A high-school graduate from Ted Ankara College in Ankara, Celik completed his senior year as an exchange student in Missouri in 1992. Working his way through college, he graduated with a business-management degree from Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Mo., in 1998.

His next steps were to become a U.S. citizen and find a career. The military seemed to be the answer for him, he said.

For many American youths, an enlistment in the military typically means giving up some of their freedom. For Celik, it meant gaining the freedom to control his destiny.

“I had a friend in the Navy who liked it,” Celik said. “He got his green card, and told me it was a good way to become an American citizen and travel the world.

“At first, I thought about going (into) the Navy, but my friend told me to go (into) the Air Force … that I would see more,” he said.

He said he considered the Army, which offered to pay his college bills. In the end, he was sold on the Air Force’s education, benefits, professionalism and technical skills.

Originally, he wanted to be a bioenvironmental engineer. Instead, in 1999, he became a contracting specialist, a career where airmen must know how to communicate with customers and vendors to get the best price for merchandise and services.

After a few years in the Air Force, he was able to return to his native country, where his ability to communicate in English and Turkish paid off.

“His ability to speak fluent Turkish and awareness of the culture is a definite asset to the squadron,” said Senior Master Sgt. Mark Miller, 39th CONS superintendent. “He helps eliminate the language barrier.”

Celik said this assignment has been a great way for him to walk between and combine the two worlds he loves the most and, in a way, act as an unofficial ambassador to help people understand the other country’s point of view.

“I can sit back and see both sides. In Turkey, it’s not uncommon to see a family of four on a moped. Americans are amazed by this,” he said.

Sometimes he said he feels even his wife, Sandra, and other Americans view Turkey as the Middle East they watch on the news. For instance, when he was a foreign exchange student in high school, students frequently asked him if he rode camels.

He would laugh and tell them his dad was a used camel dealer, and the camels with two humps were more expensive than camels with one.

In reality, his father is a retired high-school principal and his mother retired from sales.

“Turkey is more modern and liberal than people think,” he said.

Returning to Turkey also afforded Celik the opportunity to help out those less fortunate. In his time off, he works beside other airmen through organizations like Project Orphanage. The program helps disadvantaged youths by providing them shoes, clothes or the immediate gratification of food.

A father himself to 7-month-old Alec Izmen, he said he wants to impart some of the same desire to succeed he had to the local Turkish children who remind him of his youth.

“I want to show kids you don’t have to be afraid to take that chance,” Celik said. “Even if I can talk one child into deciding they want to finish high school (and) then college, it’s worth it. I want to give them the encouragement they need.”

After he retires, he said he would like to become a teacher.

His immediate goal is to earn a commission through the Airman Education and Commissioning Program as a foreign area officer specializing in Turkish, he said.

“Even though I’m American, I’ll always have my roots in Turkey,” Celik said.