I am a 31-year-old man serving in the Republic of Korea Air Force as a fighter pilot. I served as president of our student council in my high school, representing 2400 students, and went on to serve as class representative and cadet wing commander in my years spent at the air force academy. I graduated from the pilot training program with honors and soon found myself in the Western Saharan desert serving with the UN trying to bring peace to the region.
I am proud to have overcome hardships that made me a stronger person. I required surgery on my nasal septum to be accepted to the airforce academy. I later learned that I had another problem in the veins near my testis which also required surgery.
For two and half years I underwent basic, intermediate, advanced, and combat readiness training. During an intermediate course, I failed solo check-ride, and my instructor pilot told me that there is little hope that I would finish the course. Even if I could somehow manage to pass this intermediate course, he suggested that I would be washed out either in advanced or combat readiness course. I was shocked, but I could not think of myself as anything other than a pilot because I knew that being a fighter pilot was the best thing that I could give back to my country. I realized that I had to try twice or three times harder than my colleagues since I was not a natural born pilot. I never gave up, however, and graduated near the top of my class.
I volunteered to join the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara to devote my life and talents to peacebuilding. It was not easy, from the beginning, I struggled to convince senior officials that a fighter pilot should be chosen to serve on a UN mission.
I was even told by the Army general in the joint chiefs of staff that it would be a national loss (as the nation makes a huge investment in each pilot) if I were to be sent to Western Sahara. I replied that I define myself not as a pilot but an officer in the military who should have broad experience to become a wise decision maker in the future. I was honored to be selected as an air liaison officer serving in the UN Mission headquarters in Western Sahara where I was able to expedite emergency response time.
It was not easy for a captain from a small country in East Asia to convince both stubborn UN civilians who had already spent more than 10 years in the mission and the section heads from different armies with little experience in air operations. At first, I sent a letter of complaint to them only to realize that even though my suggestion was logical enough, it would not be seen with favor. Next, I tried to convince them with politeness and little by little opened their mind to me. I was proud when we could transport a local Saharawi woman living in the desert that had been bitten by horn viper to a hospital in Algeria in time and saved her life. Those experiences assured me that nothing makes me happier than when I find myself immersed in the process of helping others.
My long-term plan is to be a decision maker in national defense, especially dealing with the North Korean regime. For many years army personnel dominated the majority of the military decision makers. As an air power expert, however, there are special things that I will be able to contribute to my country and the World.
My short-term plan is to move up in the ranks of the South Korean Air Force to a level where I have some strategic authority. I hope to work with the Ministry of Defense in policy development. I will focus on North Korean Policy, based on the Air Force’s view that I may be able to fill in the gaps that remain neglected by Army personnel. In this way, I will be able to give all the support that I can to the South Korean government’s struggle to bring peace to East Asia, especially the Korean Peninsula.
I have served in the Air Force for seven years and developed US-KOREA wartime plans for air assets. I have participated in numerous joint exercises and operations between our militaries, including ‘Counter Yeonpyeong Island Bombardment’. In the Western Sahara I worked with people from diverse backgrounds and developed my global leadership skills. Having participated in a ceasefire monitoring mission in Africa, I have become more international and analytical in my thinking about multiple party conflict negotiation.
My short-term goal is to study at the XXXX School of Government MPP Program because both my superior officers and I are convinced that you program will provide me with the optimal preparation that I will need to make the most valuable and thoughtful contributions possible to the maintenance of peace in Southeast Asia.
MPP Personal Purpose Public Policy Statement Examples
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