Kigali born Karl Mutangana has become Senior Airman in the US Air Force, three years after he left Rwanda to the United States of America.
He was recently selected to help lead the new F-35 MICAP (mission capable section) at the Eglin Air Force Base in the State of Florida.
The Eglin AFB’s website published Mutangana’s story on Monday, lauding his leadership qualities which blossomed quickly as an Airman and got him promoted to Senior Airman six months earlier than it is usually done.
His job as a liaison between suppliers ensures F-35 aircraft parts are prioritised according to mission needs.
“Mutangana was handpicked to help lead the new F-35 MICAP, (mission capable section) here and he’s become a key player,” said Staff Sgt. Stephany Birkos, Mutangana’s supervisor. “He makes me proud. His motivation and passion are what our Air Force needs.”
Now deployed, Mutangana is in a leadership role as an escort for non-military connected base workers.
The 22-year eldest of five siblings said he dreamed of becoming a leader since his childhood.
Only two years after enlisting, Senior Airman Karl Mutangana, 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron, got deployed for his new country as an Airman in the United States Air Force.
“I’m grateful. Being in the United States Air Force is an enlightening experience,” said the five-level journeyman. “It’s rewarding to see what I do supports the test aircraft and a larger mission.”
Mutangana was 11-years-old when his mother moved to America under refugee status. He remained in Rwanda with his grandmother.
“Growing up in Rwanda had its ups and downs. Sometimes we didn’t have anything to eat. The entire community would be without food, so it didn’t bother us as much. We didn’t dwell on it. We just lived,” he said.
He was born after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi but grew up in a conflicted society with lingering ideological differences. Mutangana said that the prejudice he witnessed from conflicts ignited his passion for leadership.
Determined to keep those differences from affecting another generation, Mutangana became the president of the Never Again Club in his high school.
The club was promoting unity and reconciliation among students.
“Bringing Hutus and Tutsis students together to talk through real issues broke the bondage. We became friends. We realised we had a better future,” said the multi-lingual Airman who speaks four African languages.
“Through this experience, I realised I had a passion for leadership. There was something better in my future too.”
Mutangana was granted a permanent residence card and joined his mother and his America-born siblings in Connecticut in 2015.
Long before Mutangana arrived, he searched for leadership opportunities. He found himself drawn to the Air Force’s culture of integrity and leadership.
“I felt the Air Force would be a good platform to develop my leadership skills and further my education. It would be living my dream.” he said.
Despite some uncertainty about the requirements for joining the Air Force, Mutangana placed his hopes and dreams in what his mother always told him, ‘anything you think of, dream of, you can achieve it.’
“When the recruiter told me I was eligible. I knew it was the beginning of my success story,” said Mutangana. “I was glad for the opportunity to join the world’s greatest Air force.”
Mutangana first donned his ‘Blues’ for basic training graduation. That momentous day was when he also became an American citizen.
“At the same time, I was sworn-in as a U.S citizen,” he said.
“It was memorable. I became an American after 10 months in the country. It was a miracle.”
Air Force, also called air army or aerospace force, is the set of attack and fighter aircrafts, helicopters, transport aircrafts, and bombers.
ListoGraphic reports that US Air Force is the world’s most powerful in 2018 with more aircrafts than China, Russia, India, UK, Germany, and France combined.
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