MOODY AIR FORCE BASE — Vehicles trickle onto Moody Air Force base shortly after 8 a.m. The drowsy eyes of personnel sharpen to the baritone voice that greets them as they roll up to the gate.

“Hooah!” shouts Sgt. Gerrall Wynn, saluting a ranking officer after checking his identification.

Wynn and Spc. David Hicks, both of the Army National Guard, have brought new meaning to the traditional Army greeting “hooah” at the base. The word is derived from the acronym HUA, meaning “heard, understood, acknowledged.” But for the soldiers, it’s just their way of showing respect to ranking officers and motivating personnel at the base.

Moody’s reception to the greeting was at first hesitant, when Hicks and Wynn began using it nearly two years ago, but it has since earned them the nickname “Hooah boys” and respect in return for their purpose at the base.

“Hicks started it, and it just triggered down the line,” Wynn said.

“It’s much better when you come to work motivated, it makes work a lot easier,” Hicks said.

Originally intended to be sent to Iraq, the Hooah boys, of LaGrange, were instead assigned to Moody to provide relief in security as personnel have been deployed.

Working 30 hours a week at the gate, they see their job as more than just another assignment.

“The people are what make the job for me,” Wynn said. “The people keep me motivated, and if they think I’m motivated they’ll be motivated for their day.”

Although “hooah” is the Army’s tradition, Col. Joe Callahan, vice commander, said it has made an impact at Moody.

“It has improved conditions out here, it gets you ready for work,” Callahan said. “At some point during the day I try to swing by to check on the guys and see how things are going, and they’re always up in spirits. To be honest, when you’re out there six hours a day checking IDs at the gate it gets a little old, but they really take their jobs seriously. “

It helps when the first thing they learned in the Army was guard duty, Hicks said. But guarding the gate has been more about getting the chance to interact with people. The conversation they exchange with personnel and civilians is the incentive to their assignment.

“The most important thing is the people you come in contact with … they make the job fun,” Wynn said.

While they are the faces that people have become most familiar with at the gates, Wynn and Hicks get their time to relax.

“People see us and think we work every day,” Hicks said. “We get some time off.”

That’s the time when Wynn and Hicks cruise on their motorcycles.

“That right there is like taking a real mental break, it frees your mind,” said Hicks, who is also vice president of Moody’s motorcycle club.

The roommates have gone on trips to Macon, Daytona Beach and will participate in a parade at Albany State.

Wynn also heads to the archery range for target practice when he needs some additional relaxation. The soldier has been competing for three years and after taking a bow hunter class, he was ranked 50th in the nation in Class C archery.

“It’s competitive, with everything you rely on yourself,” Wynn said. “In the military you’re always going to have a buddy system.”

For the past year and nine months, the Hooah boys said that buddy system has been about the relationships they built with the Air Force and Valdosta.

“Without the people in the community accepting us it wouldn’t have been as good,” Hicks said. “I’ll definitely miss the people.”

As Wynn thinks about what he will miss, a car drives by and a child in the back seat rolls down the window and yells “hooah.” Wynn points at the car and says, “That right there, that’s what I’ll miss.”