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Students Share Desire To Serve Country

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By KATHY STEELE

ksteele@tampatrib.com

Published: February 25, 2009

TAMPA - Five Tampa students speak a common theme: a desire to serve their country.

They are among recent candidates to receive military appointments to the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Garrett Fly, 18, represents the third generation in his family to take to the skies in service of country. His grandfather flew bombers in World War II.

Fly's father retired from the Air Force as a colonel, and later owned a company that staged aerial dogfights. A flight with his father was Fly's first introduction to flying.

"I thought that was pretty cool," Fly said.

His goal is to fly F-16s for the U.S. Air Force.

There is a sense of duty and honor in military service. "All the people who served with my father, they were always people who had common principles and I was inspired by their work ethic. I just felt like I fit in," he said.

Fly is chairman of Hillsborough High School's Honor Council and was captain of the Terrier football team.

"I think it's a tremendous honor for me and I really do appreciate this," he said.

Duc Nguyen (pronounced "win") was born in Vietnam but moved to Tampa as a youngster with his family in the mid-1990s. The 20-year-old graduated from Hillsborough High School and went to University of South Florida for two years as a pre-med student.

But he had a passion to become an officer in the Navy or Marines. His father was a major in the South Vietnamese army.

"I just want to be more like my father," Nguyen said.

Last summer he began classes in Newport, R.I., at the Navy's preparatory school. By July he expects to begin the four-year program at the academy where he will work toward becoming an ensign in the Navy or second lieutenant in the Marines.

Dreams of air flight captured Robert Kouwe's imagination upon watching shows staged at MacDill Air Force Base.

At age 15 he began flying lessons, earning his pilot's license. He is working toward his flight instrument registration.

Kouwe, 18, hopes to fly F-22s. "It's the coolest plane," he said.

The Jesuit High School senior is goalkeeper on the varsity soccer team, a member of the National Honor Society, and president of Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD.

He plans a military career. "I think it's something I'm willing to do, protecting our country," Kouwe said. "I thought it was huge I was selected. My family is very supportive."

Taylor Vann is a sailor.

So are his closest relatives.

Vann, 17, is on the sailing team at Plant High School.

His mother grew up in a sailing family in San Francisco; his father graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Decades apart, father and son picked up early sailing skills at the same North Carolina summer camp.

One brother, Andrew, graduates from the Naval Academy this year and another brother, Robert, is a sophomore there.

"I enjoy the freedom of sailing. It's cliche I know," Vann said. "It's all on you and how you handle the situation."

On church missions, Vann has helped with vacation Bible Schools while building green energy houses in Costa Rica and a wheelchair ramp in Montana.

"I've always been big on the service aspect of the military," he said. "I enjoy helping others."

Greg Dupell, 18, splits his extracurricular school activities at Jesuit High School between football and baseball.

Last summer Naval Academy scouts approached him about playing baseball for Navy. When Dupell checked out the academy he liked what he saw - and not just for the chance to play first or third base for Navy.

Academically it is an impressive school, Dupell said.

His mother's family has served in the U.S. Air Force.

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, made a deep impression.

"We need willing and capable Americans to defend freedom," he said.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.

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