Air Force lieutenant hopes to one day return home to Africa

  • Published
  • By Janae' Daniels
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  Growing up the son of missionaries, 2nd Lt. Wes Meredith considers Africa his homeland.

Other than being born in Atlanta and going to college in Nebraska, Lieutenant Meredith has spent most of his life in Africa.

"Since I grew up there, I never had anything to compare it to. So Africa is home as far as I am concerned," he said. "I compare things to the U.S. living there, but I never compare there to living in the U.S."

Learning and living in a different culture can be difficult, but for Lieutenant Meredith, project manager in the Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit, it has been an eye-opening, life-changing experience.

"The people over there are so welcoming and nice," he explained. "The culture is very laid back. I found it difficult when I got to the states at first because everyone has to be doing something; everyone has to be on a schedule all the time.

"When I got to field training and we had some time off, everyone asked me what I was going to do," he said. "I told them I was just going to relax and they looked at me really funny."

As a fellow lieutenant, 2nd Lt. Alex Henning, Arcs project manager for the 718th Test Squadron, believes Lieutenant Meredith brings a different perspective to the Air Force and to AEDC.

"Wes grew up in Africa, so he shares interesting stories about cultural differences," Lieutenant Henning said. "At the same time, he almost has an 'outside-looking in perspective.' Since he grew up in a different nation he shares what other countries think about our lifestyle and governmental policies."

Capt. Catercia Isaac, from the 718th Test Squadron, finds Lieutenant Meredith interesting and a great asset to the Air Force.

"What I find most interesting is that he grew up in Africa and is an avid rugby player," the captain said. "Not only is he the first person I know who plays rugby, but he's on the Air Force rugby team. That is an accomplishment and shows the amount of skill he has."

Lieutenant Meredith has also experienced a more relationship-oriented culture in Africa.

"I feel the culture in the U.S. is more materialistic-oriented and people live to work. I think Americans have a strong work ethic, but you have to be able to balance it all or you will get burned out," he explained. "This is just my viewpoint but it's what I have observed since being in the U.S."

Lieutenant Meredith finds it a little ironic that he joined the military, which usually has a rigid routine and schedule, but coming from a long line of family members who were or are in the military, he decided to join the ranks anyway.

"I didn't originally want to be in the military and never really thought about it, but I roomed with a guy at Nebraska who was in ROTC and the benefits sounded nice," he explained. "I did want to be a mechanical engineer so I thought maybe the Air Force could help me pay for school, but I never got a scholarship."

His father began at the Air Force Academy, but transferred to the University of Tennessee after his sophomore year.

"This past summer my dad and I were in Colorado and we drove by the academy and he said, 'I've always thought about if I'd graduated from there,'" Lieutenant Meredith said recollecting the drive. "I told him I was glad he didn't stay because he wouldn't have been a missionary."

As if he didn't have enough to do with balancing ROTC and a degree in mechanical engineering at Nebraska, Lieutenant Meredith was also in the rugby club.

"I played soccer and basketball, but I was mediocre in those sports and I just liked rugby better," he said. "Rugby was really where my passion was."

Lieutenant Meredith just finished up competition earlier this month where the team beat the U.S. Army team in the championship 34-0. During the tournament, the Air Force rugby team played a total of five games and beat their opponents by a score of 226-3. This helped them won their sixth consecutive Armed Forces Championship. They also played against the Royal Australian Air Force and beat them by a score of 34-18 to go undefeated on the week.