Serving through the season: Senior Airman Jose Reyes

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leigh Bellinger
  • Detachment 4, Air Force News Agency
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) --  Senior Airman Jose Reyes knows all about spending the holidays with a large family. As the youngest of nine brothers and sisters growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., he did it and now he's doing it with a new family.

"It's easier to spend that time together with them," said Sergeant Reyes, an Air Force Reserve medical technician. "It's not like I'm deploying to a place where I don't know anybody and I have to go and isolate myself."

He's deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he's assigned to the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility. While here he does it all ... takes care of patients, drives a bus, checks equipment. And he couldn't be more satisfied.

"The good thing is the mission here, taking care of all the people," he said. "I put myself in their positions. They're also away from home and besides that they're hurt."

That attitude helps what with the 12-hour days and working during the holidays. And that's something the wounded troops can appreciate.

"I see it as a gift if I can only smile to that person, say 'Merry Christmas.' We are here with you. Make them feel like part of the family even when they're away from home like me."

So he does his bit by spreading some holiday cheer, even though he's spending this Christmas a long way away from his mother and brothers and sisters.

"So we're use to spending the holidays together," Airman Reyes said. "For me to be here by myself with my mom being in New York by herself is kind of awkward. But, it's not the first time I've been away during the holidays and I'm sure it's not going to be the last time either."

Back home, Reyes works as an Army civilian at the New York City Military Entrance Processing Station.

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