A Hindu American Air Force officer: 'Shakti' in the trenches

The Hindu American community is celebrating navaratri and the strength of the woman in many aspects such as ShaktiSeva. A new generation of Americans of Hindu faith (today's New Americans) are marching into new terrains, literally and figuratively.

Recently I connected with one such hero, a Hindu woman of Shakti - Major Aarti Puri, Air Force Academy Graduate assigned at Scott AFB, Illinois.

Aarti has been deployed multiple times since September 11, 2001. Soft-spoken, her colleagues describe her as - "is a true warrior (exemplifying the strength of Durga). A fine example of empowerment... a role model for the community."

But, a pioneer's road can be a lonely one......Below, in her own words, is her story of and for understanding:

"When I first stepped onto the campus of the United States Air Force Academy at the age of 12 while visiting my older brother, I came to observe a unique culture amongst the cadets there. It drew me in like nothing else had before, despite my doubt that I would be able to endure the rigors applied to Air Force Academy cadets.

Within the cadet culture was a deep sense of community, an intense commitment to something larger than oneself, and an impenetrable pride in what they do. In many ways these characteristics parallel those of the Hindu community. As Hindus, we too have a strong sense of community in staying true to our values and heritage. We share a commitment to something higher than ourselves in the form of our God. And, we are proud of our background and all that makes us unique.

In my four years at the Air Force Academy and more than nine years as an Air Force officer, I have learned to further embrace these aspects of both the military culture and Hindu culture. Through the lessons I have learned from being in the military and growing up a Hindu, I have gained a sense of identity and confidence to get me through the difficult times I have encountered.

This was especially true on my deployments to Qatar and Afghanistan. As a contracting officer doing business with the local economy, many of the local businessmen initially exhibited reluctance in dealing with me as a female in a position of authority. I was able to overcome this by drawing strength from the confidence I gained through my military training and the work ethic instilled in me by my Hindu upbringing.

While traveling through Afghanistan, I drew strength from prayer and the support of fellow service members to alleviate any fears I had of threats to our safety.

If I ever felt homesick or lonely while being so far away from family for several months, I got through it knowing I had my God, the support of family and friends, and the satisfaction that what I was doing was contributing to securing the freedom of my fellow Americans and providing opportunities to so many immigrants like my parents who came to this country to achieve the American dream.

There is nothing else I would rather be doing than serving this great nation built from the hands of immigrants.

I am aware that there are many out there in the Hindu community that may not understand completely what I and my fellow service members do and why, because it is not considered a very "traditional" path for members of our culture to pursue, but I urge you all to seek out the Hindu service members in your community; most of us move around frequently and adjust to new locations where we usually don't know any Hindus in the local community.

If you do happen to meet one of us, please reach out to us, ask us about our service and we would be delighted to share our stories with you and further demonstrate our sense of community, commitment and pride with our Hindu brothers and sisters and the community at large."

.....And we hope there will be opportunities for the many Aartis to share their story with many....

As new immigrants, the new Americans, we need to expand our community support infrastructures, seva centers, in our temples/ashrams/spiritual centers as discussed in my earlier blog and the community needs assessment report we gave to the president. We hope these will help us connect with America and to deal with the contemporary realities that the new Hindu/Dharmic Americans are marching towards.

By Anju Bhargava  |  October 14, 2010; 6:51 PM ET Save & Share:                 
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