(Originally published March 2003)

Airman 1st Class George Okorodudu admits with a wide smile he has nothing.

For the better part of two years, the Nigerian-born Okorodudu, a deployed supply troop here, has been building his American Dream with a foundation that’s included an Air Force enlistment. Even as he waits for his U.S. citizenship to be finalized, the 25-year-old Okorodudu is excited about what lies ahead.

“The American Dream is to start with nothing and to work your way up in the world,” he said. “I’m excited to try this.”

He should be. Before his immigration, Okorodudu was one six brothers and nine sisters, and one of 30 million Nigerians applying to get a visa to go to the U.S. While his country is rich with natural resources, the nation is flush with poverty, strife and political unrest.

Disease, primarily HIV and AIDS, affects 5 percent of the 129 million people in Africa’s most populous country, where the average life expectancy tops out at 51 years. According to the CIA’s World Factbook 2002, Nigeria is also a safe haven for narcotics traffickers operating worldwide. Money laundering runs rampant.

Okorodudu said poverty and hardship reigned in his home country. He said the education system was broken and many towns still had no electrical power. Still, he said, Nigerians were “always positive” but longing for more.

“Everyone in Nigeria wants to come to the U.S.,” Okorodudu said, “but they see it as an unreachable dream.”

So did he. He knew that of those who applied, only 3,000 would get a visa. He thought, “What do I have to lose?” Nothing, apparently. He applied and received approval. By December 2000, Okorodudu found himself living with one of his sister’s friends in southern California.

After deciding college would be an uphill climb, he looked into a military enlistment — something that required family connections or money in Nigeria.

Now enrolled at Minot State University in North Dakota majoring in sociology and setting his sights on a law degree, Okorodudu is finding success in the Air Force. He scored a 95 on his recent career development course test and is a candidate for a below-the-zone promotion to senior airman.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Brugman has worked with the airman for a little more than a year. Brugman, also deployed here, said if anyone deserves a below-the-zone promotion and to fulfill the American Dream, it’s Okorodudu.

Photo, caption below.
Nigerian-native Airman 1st Class George Okorodudu deployed to RAF Fairford, England. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jason Tudor

“George is very sharp and professional,” Brugman said. “He has a great attitude and his initiative is unbeatable.”

Okorodudu misses some aspects of Nigeria, like the food and his family. He talks to his mother once a month. He said she often calls her son “George Bush” because of his American military service. However, he’s relishing his time in the Air Force and should have his citizenship by the time he gets back to Minot.

“It’s awesome,” Okorodudu said about Air Force enlistment. “I had to leave everything behind when I left Nigeria, but the Air Force met my needs and it was a good opportunity. I’m independent.”

Meanwhile, he continues to build on his portion of the American Dream. In Okorodudu’s mind, there’s no turning back. He’s primed himself for success even as his deployed unit builds up for war. He said to complete his vision sacrifices will be made. Duty here is one of them. That duty is turning nothing into something — and it makes him smile.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from. It matters what you bring to the table,” he said. “The cost is worth it. Freedom is worth it.”

Story and photo by Jason Tudor

(Originally written in November 2006, while deployed)

An American Thanksgiving kitchen is often a loud, clattering commotion of cooks, noise, smells and relatives arguing about what time the Dallas Cowboys’ game starts. By the time the chaos settles onto polished dining room furniture, all that’s left are the clean-up, naps and a good game of bid whist.

The same could be said about the 380th Expeditionary Services Squadron’s dining facility kitchen in the days leading up to turkey day. Sans noisy relatives with neverending stories, the 26 people who planned and cooked this base’s formal Thanksgiving meal were hustling now to meet Thankgiving’s 11 a.m. start time — for good reason.

“Yes, people will be away from home, but they will still get the same quality here,” said Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Slowick, NCO in charge of the dining facility. “This meal is about morale. Everybody gets to sit down and enjoy.”

And, oh, what they will enjoy: three-quarters of a ton of turkey, including 24 whole birds; 350 pounds of ham; 613 pounds of steamship round roast; 56 sweet potato pies; 42 apple and pumpkin pies; and 32 pecan pies.

That’s just a slice of the feast. There are also enough mashed potatoes to make an Idahoan proud, enough cranberry sauce to wrestle in, as well as an assortment of candy, nuts and much more.

Staff Sgt. James Lotz ordered and received that basket of groceries. The $25,000 food order — bought from the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia — arrived in country Nov. 1. The contractor delivered it here Nov. 15. Everything checked out fine when he got it. But what if it hadn’t?

“We would have sent it back,” he said. “We wouldn’t sacrifice quality for quantity. We would have made Thanksgiving happen another way. It might not have been exactly a Thanksgiving meal, but it would have been Thanksgiving.”

Ten cooks started preparing the meal Nov. 21, three days before the first hungry Airman hits the food line. Sergeant Slowick said the meats get cooked first.

“The cooks pull the meats, put them in a thaw box and start cooking everything to meet demand,” he said. “We have to make sure everything is cooked properly before we put it onto the serving line at 11 a.m.”

He said the most difficult items to prepare are the steamship round roasts. One roast weighs 65 pounds and is slightly larger than a beach ball.

“The roast has to be cooked 14 to 16 hours to make sure it’s the correct temperature inside,” Sergeant Slowick said. “You can’t halfway cook it and start over.”

Turkeys and hams take about three hours to cook. Almost everything else can be done Thanksgiving day. That is, if the equipment cooperates. There have been issues with a few of the ovens in the past.

“There’s going to be a lot of stress on the equipment,” he said. “There are also a lot of things going into the ovens at the same time.”

Even as they preflight the Thanksgiving meal, the dining facility team is still making breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight meal. From the start of the week to today, the crew served 11,100 meals. That’s 133 meals served every hour until show time — in addition to flipping and stuffing the holiday birds.

None of this is lost on the facility’s patrons, like Staff Sgt. Scott Harris. The 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Airman knows his Thanksgiving, too. His hometown is a stone’s throw from Plymouth Rock.

“It won’t be the same,” the Carver, Mass., native said. “We usually eat, watch football, and have a good time. Then we head down to Plymouth Plantations.”

However, when Sergeant Harris heard about the volume of food and the effort undertaken by the dining facility workers, he smiled.

“Thank God,” he said. “Their effort is great. It can’t be something that’s easy.”

To ensure those 3,000 meals reach an expected 1,300 people, both dining facility lines will serve holiday food (no snack line). The center of the dining facility will teem with pies, cakes and other goodies.

The combat dining facility is not left out of this fray, either. Workers at the CDK will prepare some food, but most will be brought over during the day. After all, Airmen will still be “meeting the frag” as turkey is served.

Despite the volume of food, there are some things the staff won’t be able to replicate.

“We can’t bring people’s families over,” Sergeant Slowick said. “Some might want snow. Others might want to hit the beach after their meal. Everybody has their own thing and to bring it all into the DFAC is hard to do. We’ll give them comfort and a good meal. The football comes later.”

So, while the chaos of family and commotion of a busy kitchen may be missing for some, the food will be in abundance. Sergeant Harris said that makes it worthwhile.

“In addition to the food, this is a time for everyone to get together and reflect on giving thanks,” Sergeant Harris said. “We can sure be thankful for what the dining facility has done.”

Story and photo by Tech. Sgt. Jason Tudor