The oath of enlistment for military recruits is a special ceremony. It is a declaration where men and women pledge to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Wednesday morning NASA took the moment to new heights.

Nearly a dozen future soldiers from Kern County assembled with families and friends inside the Agriculture Pavilion at the Regional Occupational Center to recite the oath administered from an altitude of 254 miles above the Earth. Colonel Andrew Morgan, who is also a NASA astronaut, asked the recruits to raise their right hand and repeat the oath from the international space station along with more than 850 future soldiers from across the country.

Ironically, only 29 percent of today's youth meet the minimum qualifications to serve as a soldier. Officials say those who succeed receive top-notch technical training and education in more than 150 career fields.