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Med Flag deployment proves you can go home again

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Pamela Anderson
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TAMALE, Ghana (AFPN) --  Have you ever heard the saying "You can never go home again"? 

Some people might believe that, but Col. Victor Folarin, 52nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron commander, is not one of them. 

A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Colonel Folarin was tasked as the mission commander for Med Flag 2006 in Tamale, Ghana, and the moment he got here he knew where he was. 

"I thought 'I am home,'" he said, "and it is great to be back." 

The lifelong journey that brought him on this deployment wasn't an easy one for the flight surgeon, but it's one he wouldn't change. 

"I was born into a traditional African family," Colonel Folarin said, "but then my parents divorced when I was two and I went to live with my grandfather." 

It was with guidance from his grandfather that the colonel found an appreciation for education. 

"My grandfather was a strict disciplinarian," he said. "I was not allowed to be out of control; instead he focused me on academics from an early age. By the time I entered elementary school, I could do multiplication tables up to 12 times 12." 

When he was 10 years old, Colonel Folarin went to live with his father and continued schooling, though he got a little more than he may have wanted. 

"We had to pay for high school and at that time my father was paying for my older brother and sister and couldn't afford to send me at the same time," he said. "So, for three years, I had to repeat things I had already learned in elementary school in a different region of the country until I could go to high school." 

Finally his time came and by then, Colonel Folarin said he knew he wanted to be in the medical field. 

"My mother wanted me to be a pharmacist, so that's what I wanted to do though I didn't know what a pharmacist was," he said. 

But in high school he discovered his love for biology and the basic sciences and knew practicing medicine was what he wanted to do. That was also about the time he decided he would continue his education in the United States. 

"At that time, university education wasn't available for everyone (in Nigeria)," Colonel Folarin said. "There were five universities and one was closed because of the war." 

With some financial help from his brother, Colonel Folarin set out to make his way to the U.S., but before he could begin the application process, he had to get approval from the Nigerian Federal Government. 

"I had to meet a board that decides if you can go overseas," Colonel Folarin said. "I had to prove to them that I could do it." 

He also had to give the government $500 to cover the cost of a plane ticket should he get to the U.S. and had to be repatriated to his home country. 

"I have not gotten my $500 (150 pounds) back and I still have the receipt," he said. 

Once he got approval from the federal government, he had to decide on a school. He knew he couldn't afford a four-year college so he decided junior college was his best option. 

"I went to the U.S. Embassy and got a book with a listing of American junior colleges," he said. "I took it home and started to go through it." 

Deciding on the best school for him was a very tedious process for the colonel, so he got some help from his sister. 

"I wrote down a list of about 20 schools from Alabama to Florida, alphabetically, and rolled them on little pieces of paper," he said. "I put them in a hat and had my sister draw six out and those were the ones I applied to. Snead State Junior College in Boaz, Ala., was the first to reply so that's where I went." 

With support from his family, Colonel Folarin made his way to the United States in 1970, though his departure was bittersweet. 

"My grandfather was very sick and everyone kept saying he wasn't going to make it much longer, but he said he would not die until his grandson left for the United States," Colonel Folarin said. "I left in July and my grandfather died in August." 

Once he got to school, it didn't take long for the young Nigerian to excel in academics. He left Snead as the best chemistry student in his class and transferred to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn., where he majored in chemistry. 

In 1980 he began medical school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, but had to quit and restart a year later at the recommendation of an academic board. 

"I had some problems so I had to drop out in December of '80, but went back in the summer of '81," Colonel Folarin said. 

He faced a major crossroads in his quest for a medical degree in 1984, when his father died. 

"I talked about going (to Nigeria) for my father's funeral, and my medical school instructor said I had to do what I had to do, but he couldn't guarantee my spot would be there when I returned," Colonel Folarin said. "I knew I had a tough decision to make and decided to stay at school instead of going to my father's funeral. I have no regrets because I know that's what (my father) would have wanted me to do." 

Two years later, Colonel Folarin began his residency in family medicine at the Trover Clinic Foundation in Kentucky where he also made his first step toward the Air Force by joining the Kentucky Army National Guard. 

"I thought I would do an initial tour to see if I liked it or not," he said. 

The doctor liked it enough to join the active-duty Air Force in 1993. Now 13 years later, that decision is what has enabled him to go home again and make a difference in his region. 

"It's a great feeling that Uncle Sam has allowed me to do something for my own kind, no matter how small the gesture," Colonel Folarin said. 

Though this is only the second time he's been home since he left for college, Colonel Folarin said his homeland is never far from his thoughts. 

"You can take me out of Nigeria, but it is still part of me," he said. "Nigeria is in my heart and that's where it will stay."