SrA. Sergey Grigoryan, 42nd Aerial Port Squadron

Fleeing the first Chechen War, then 15-yearold Sergey Grigoryan sought refuge in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his parents. “Back in the early ‘90s when the war was going on in Russia, it was a dangerous place to grow up, not to mention the school systems were very corrupt,” SrA. Grigoryan said. He didn’t know any English when he started high school in America. He was forced to learn on the spot. A few years later, at age 18, SrA. Grigoryan took and passed the tests to enlist in the armed forces. “My cousin told me to wait and see what I could become in the civilian world, so I did.” After six years of obtaining on-the-job training, working with not only Iron Chef Morimoto but also Iron Chef Bobby Flay in New York, he decided to obtain an education at the Art Institute in New York for pastry baking. “Even after all that, I still wanted to join the Air Force,” SrA. Grigoryan said. In May 2012, he signed a contract with the Air Force Reserve as an air transportation specialist, assigned to the 42nd APS. When asked what he liked the most about the military, he stated matter-of-factly that “he loves the camaraderie. “It takes a certain calibre of person to be in the military… not everyone in this world is willing to put their life on the line.” “My ultimate goal is to get as involved with the military as I can and be as effective and useful as possible.”