For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the 17th Training Wing of the US Airforce recognizes service members of different backgrounds and experiences.
It’s highlighting this week, Master Sgt. Gloria Florentine Siliako-Nautu, 17th Security Forces Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of operations.
A graduate of Faasao Marist High School, Master Sgt. Siliako Nautu is currently deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, working at the Deployment Transition Center (DTC) as the mission set manager flight chief.
She’s a Defender by trade and back at home, station 17th Security Forces Squadron, she was the non-commissioned officer in charge of operations at Goodfellow Air Force Base.
Siliako Nautu proudly states, “I come from the beautiful island of American Samoa located southwest of Hawaii.”
Asked what Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month means to her she says, “It means remembering that I’m Samoan and to be proud of who I am. It also means sharing my culture and the Samoan history with those around me.”
“I’m proud of the Fa’a-Samoa or the Samoan way. We are deeply rooted in our culture despite where we go. We were taught at a very young age of the traditional and customary way of life in Samoan culture.”
What Asian or Pacific Islander public figure, past or present, inspires you and why?
Her answer: “Congresswoman Uifa’atali Aumua Amata Coleman. She was the first woman to represent my island in the U.S. Congress.”
