Private Joshua Weah enlisted in the Connecticut Army National Guard in April 2017, looking forward to completing his training. He returned to Connecticut from AIT as a qualified wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to A Company, 192nd Engineer Battalion, proudly serving his nation.
But for PVT Weah, the United States only recently became his nation.
On Dec. 14, 2017, at the Brien McMahon Federal Building in Bridgeport, Conn., PVT Weah, a native of Dakar, Senegal, who moved to America in 2013, raised his right hand for the second time this year and officially became a U.S. citizen.
PVT Weah’s story was uncovered in early December 2017, when he accepted an invitation to join State leadership in a ceremony honoring the National Guard’s 381st birthday. To celebrate, CSM John Carragher, state command sergeant major of the Connecticut Army National Guard, found the Guard members with the longest and shortest service time available to take part in the traditional cake-cutting ceremony.
Before PVT Weah teamed up with 41-year service veteran MSG Davis Foster of the 143rd Regional Support Group for the cake-cutting event, he spoke with CSM Carragher, MG Thad Martin, adjutant general and commander of the Connecticut National Guard, and BG Francis Evon, assistant adjutant general.
“Every year, we invite one of our newest service members to take part [in the cake cutting] in order to introduce them to their leadership and give them another source of information to obtain advice from,” CSM Carragher said. “PVT Weah embodies everything we look for in a Soldier. I was truly honored to meet him and wish him the best in his new career as a Connecticut National Guard Soldier.”
It was during his talk with senior leadership that CSM Carragher learned about PVT Weah’s upcoming citizenship ceremony.
Decked out in his OCPs, on Dec. 14 PVT Weah was joined by his aunt, nephew and niece to accept his certificate of naturalization. Also in attendance was SFC Eduardo Coya, his recruiter.
“As a recruiter, you have the privilege of seeing the newest generation of Guard members start their military journey,” SFC Coya said after attending PVT Weah’s ceremony. “When I learned that PVT Weah was finally obtaining something he has worked so hard for, I couldn’t pass up the chance to be there and support a fellow Connecticut Guard member.”
English is not PVT Weah’s first language, although you would hardly know it in a conversation with him. French is his primary language, but he also speaks Creole and Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal.
PVT Weah knows that his new life as an American citizen is a step on a much longer journey, but he advises anyone who takes the same path to never forget their roots.
“Becoming a citizen is an honor, but you always have to remember where you first began and where you first started,” he said. “Appreciate everything that you go through, and once you’re a citizen, don’t forget to help those around you.”
BY MAJ Michael Petersen, CONNECTICUT NATIONAL GUARD
