Staff sergeant says life's events have made her a better Airman

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  After Sept. 11, 2001, Staff Sgt. Sparkle Reid was a different person. She wasn't like most Americans who were changed by the events themselves but more so in that she was in one of the 2,973 families who grieved after losing a family member in the tragedy.

Sergeant Reed lost her uncle, Louie A. Williams, when the World Trade Center towers came down. He worked on the 66th floor of the North Tower for the New York Port Authority as a paralegal.  She had what she calls "one of those deep cries."

On Feb. 27, 2009, Sergeant Reid lost her father, Charles T. Reid, after complications from surgery. Again, she cried.

Sergeant Reid, now deployed as the non-appropriated funds custodian for the 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron at an air base in Southwest Asia, said both men were men she looked up to.

"I looked up to them full of love and inspiration," said Sergeant Reid, whose hometown is Queens, N.Y. "My uncle really wanted me to finish school, so that inspired my enlistment.

"With my dad, he was so proud of me," added Sergeant Reid, who is deployed from the 48th Force Support Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. "He'd say, 'My baby girl is in the military. We'd just started to rebuild our relationship when he passed. It hurt, a lot, to lose them both but their deaths inspired me to be a better person. It inspired me to love and to forgive because you never know when you won't have someone in your life anymore."

Shortly after the Sept. 11 events, Operation Enduring Freedom began. In her current deployed location, Sergeant Reid supports OEF with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. She has been in the Air Force for nearly seven years and said she joined the military with the intention of furthering her education, but joining has given her even more.

"I have more stability in the military than I did as a civilian," Sergeant Reid said. "Originally, I wanted to go into the Army to be like my uncles and my dad But my uncle told me, 'If you go, go to the Air Force.' There is a certain amount of pride that comes with being an Airman. As far as being deployed, in my opinion, this is our real job. What we do at home station just prepares us to come here and complete our mission."

In her deployed job, Sergeant Reid manages petty cash funds for NAF activities. She also ensures NAF inventories are completed and reported and makes sure a budget is prepared and revised quarterly, or as needed for NAF. Additionally, she completes financial statements, reconciles them and forwards them to theater command every month and she purchases equipment, resale and prizes for NAF facilities.

"I have to make sure non-appropriated funds from self-generated activities are used to increase the quality of life and morale of our deployed Airmen," Sergeant Reid said.

In doing her deployed job, leaders in the 380th EFSS took notice and she was nominated and then earned the 380th AEW "Warrior of the Week" for the week of Feb. 17 to 23.

"She's a hard-working Airman and deserves the recognition for her can-do attitude every day," said Senior Master Sgt. Mark Miller, 380th EFSS first sergeant.

In remembering her father and her uncle, Sergeant Reid said she represents them and her family as best she can every day by doing her best. She said she appreciates being recognized, but that her work is "all about the team" and that she'll continue to work hard and also try to complete some goals on her deployment.

"I like the small-town feeling this deployed base has and it will help me work to complete at least half of my Community College of the Air Force degree and to study for technical sergeant," Sergeant Reid said. "I know my dad and my uncle would be proud of me for what I'm doing on this deployment. It's their inspiration that keeps me going."

The 380th EFSS is part of the 380th AEW. The 380th AEW comprises four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling and surveillance and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia. The wing supports operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.