Everyone in the room knew what was about to happen — except Staff Sgt. Nori Sannoh.
The maintainer from the 432nd Maintenance Group out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., was on temporary duty at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to help Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Neilson, 412th Aircraft Squadron, with a presentation to base leadership on an innovative way to use virtual reality to train F-35 maintenance personnel.
The presentation went well with base leadership being impressed, even getting the chance to put on VR headsets to try out the different programs.
At the end it was time for one more demonstration with Sannoh donning a headset. When she was instructed to take the VR goggles off, she saw what the unexpected demonstration was all about. Neilson was on his knee with an engagement ring and a marriage proposal.
“We’ve been together for two years now,” said Neilson. “We actually met at the Edwards gym here. We are both ex-security forces members and I convinced her to retrain (into maintenance).”
Sannoh has since changed duty stations, but apparently their love has not changed and she accepted Neilson’s proposal with a resounding “yes.”