It’s the first step of many on a potential military career, and thus a momentous occasion for those taking part. Luckily for Rannebarger, the 19-year-old had her parents and her sister, Leah, who also serves in the Air Force, present for the proceedings.
“There’s so many eyes on you,” she said, admitting she was a bit nervous for the ceremony, but still excited. “My sister currently serves in the Air Force, and I wanted to continue on that path. I love America and I want to serve my country.”
It’s a similar belief for all the new enlistees, and that’s why the occasion never gets old to Colonel Travis Pond. The installation commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Pond said he performs about five such ceremonies each season, yet doing it in a place like Nationwide Arena for a Blue Jackets game adds a unique twist to the proceedings.
“Anytime you get to a sports arena and you have a lot of people, it’s Military Appreciation Night, you get a lot of veterans out there,” Pond said. “The community is super supportive. We have a great military community across the state. It’s a lot of fun.
“How great is it to say, ‘I took my oath of office at a hockey game?’”
As cool as it is, the oath of enlistment is just step one on the journey for the 14 enlistees who took part in Thursday night’s ceremony in the Fan Lounge.
“Next step, they go into a delayed enlistment program,” said chief master sergeant Josh Malyemezian, who is also stationed at Wright-Patterson. “They’ll wait for a date to go to basic military training, so they’re all going to different jobs. Once they go to basic military training, they’ll go to technical school and then they’ll go to a base – maybe Wright-Patterson.”
The 14 new enlistees were cheered on by the sellout crowd in Nationwide Arena, which was no surprise to Pond. Military Appreciation Night brought out fans of all stripes who have either served in the military or support those who do, something he’s become quite used to in his time serving at Wright-Patterson.
“I’ve been in eight or nine states being on active duty, and Ohio is by far the best,” Pond said. “I’m biased, I'm from Ohio, but when you show up in uniform, you get thanked for your service everywhere you go. It’s a really supportive, great community.”
