Airman becomes U.S. citizen, reflects on 18-year journey

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Scott Warner
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing

Back in 2007, a young Marshal Islands boy, Menija Bulles, traveled to the United States with his family in search of the American dream.

Now, that Marshallese boy is Airman Menija Bulles, 921st Contingency Response Squadron aerial porter mobility team member. However, his Air Force story is significantly different from anyone on his team. It started with a civilian jetliner flight with his family to Hawaii to seek a better life.

“My parents knew that would be more opportunities for a better life in the United States,” Bulles emphasized. “The Marshal Islands are really small, and the population there have been struggling with rising sea levels.”

”To have full rights to vote, to have a U.S. Passport to travel and have federal jobs as new options for me was an incredible feeling, but to call myself an American was the best feeling.''
Airman Menija Bulles, 921st Contingency Response Squadron aerial porter mobility team member 
According to multiple sources, such as the New York Times, CNN, Smithsonian Institute (Ocean) and other agencies, the Marshal Islands have been experiencing the effects of rising sea levels, such as major flooding from high tides.

The article by the New York Times explained that Marshal Island residents were allowed to immigrate to the United States freely in exchange for its long-standing military cooperation and strategic position in the Pacific Ocean. The Department of the Interior describes how the Marshallese citizens could live and work in the United States without needing a visa or green card due to the Compact of Free Association agreement between the two countries.

However, after experiencing some family setbacks in Hawaii, the Bulles family moved to other continental states.

“I’ve lived in Hawaii, Arkansas, California, Texas, and Oklahoma,” Bulles added.

During his early adult life, Bulles explained that he tried many different jobs, but none of them worked out to his liking.  

“The most unique job I have ever had was working alongside my dad on a fishing boat in Alaska,” Bulles said. “I think having to work in a mini-factory in the middle of the ocean had its challenges, since I didn’t have my sea legs during any part of that job. It’s kind of funny now that my current job is in air transportation, which is completely different than my old job with my dad, but very similar to some of my past jobs working in the airline industry.”

Years spent trying one job after another led Bulles to a decision he always wanted to make, to join the U.S. military.

“I was tired of jumping from job to job.  That is when I knew I desired a change in my life; I wanted to pursue a career,” Bulles stated. “Plus, this was during when COVID-19 was first reported here, so I just needed to find purpose, a sense of fulfillment, which led me to talking to an Air Force recruiter and now the rest is history.”

During the whole recruitment process, Bulles was a Marshallese citizen. He only found out during the interview process that he could fast-track his citizenship by joining the U.S. Air Force.

Airmen receive citizenship

Airman Menija Bulles, far left, 921st Contingency Response Squadron aerial port mobility team member, receives his U.S. citizenship along with three other Airmen at Travis Air Force Base, California, June 16, 2025. Fifteen people in total attended the U.S. Citizenship ceremony held at Travis AFB and hosted by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services government agency. Photo has been edited to remove personal identifiable information from their certificates. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Staff Sgt. Scott Warner)

“To have full rights to vote, to have a U.S. Passport to travel and have federal jobs as new options for me was an incredible feeling, but to call myself an American was the best feeling,” Bulles said. “I would get all of this while working in a career that I have always wanted. From that moment on, I knew I found my purpose.”

And ever since arriving at his first duty station at Travis AFB, Bulles hit the ground running.

“Every volunteer opportunity with the Wing or the local community, Menija puts his name on the list,” Staff Sgt. Emily Kuusinen, 921st CRS aerial port mobility team leader and Bulles’ supervisor said. “Apart from volunteer events, Bulles has exceeded training timelines for his career progression and in every training opportunity, it is guaranteed that Bulles is there. He has aided me heavily with my own duties here in the CR […] excelling in his own upgrade training and acquiring his citizenship.”

Kuusinen added that she couldn’t be prouder to call Bulles her troop and that he works tirelessly for his squadron and peers.

“I see him going far in his personal and Air Force career,” Kuusinen added.