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Staff Sgt. Jorge Rodriguez didn't want to retire from the Air Force. But on Aug. 21 he did, in a ceremony with the 4th Combat Camera Squadron, where he served as a photographer for 10 years.
A Long Beach resident for many years, Rodriguez left his native Cuba as a political refugee at the age of eleven, served in the Coast Guard for five years before joining the Air Force Reserve. He voluntarily deployed to Iraq three times where he supported Operation Iraqi Freedom and documented a critical time in the history of that country.
Often serving with Army units on patrol, Rodriguez survived many close calls. However, it wasn't until 2007, after he returned from his third deployment that he found himself in an unexpected battle for his own life.
While on a dismounted patrol during deployment, he fell into a ditch, tearing the rotator cuff of his left shoulder. Upon his return, Rodriguez had surgery on his shoulder and in the recovery room, he suffered two heart attacks and a stroke.
“They told my sister I had two hours to live . . . but I didn’t die,” he said with a smile.
Today, Rodriguez's heart functions with the help of a pump he carries with him everywhere he goes. He said his own heart pumps, but “not enough to sustain life.”
Master Sgt. Randy Hopp, 4th Combat Camera first sergeant, describes Rodriguez as a humble man. Hopp visited Rodriguez at the hospital, arriving just minutes before one of the
photographer's surgeries.
“'You didn’t need to go out of your way,’” Hopp recalls Rodriguez saying to him.
"The man is about to have open heart surgery and he is worried about me!" Hopp said.
Several other Combat Camera members visited Rodriguez during his stay at the hospital, and they share the same thought: despite what he is going through he still remains the same person.
“I truly admire his courage, selflessness and dedication to country. He exemplifies the Warrior Spirit,” said Staff Sgt. Erica Knight, a fellow photographer with 4th Combat Camera Squadron. “I was absolutely amazed that his ever-present charm had not been affected by what had happened to him!”
In fact, Rodriguez's strength in character has set such an example for his unit, the phrase has now been coined, ‘What would Jorge do?’
During Rodriguez's first deployment to Iraq in 2004, he captured imagery of coalition forces in Ramadi, Al-Asad, Fallujah and other locations. One year later, he deployed to Iraq again; this time to Baghdad, where he was assigned to the Army's 256th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. He was basedat Camp Liberty, covering day and night mounted operations.
“We all know Jorge for his easy demeanor, the twinkle in his eye and that easy smile,” said Chief Master Sgt. Edward Mogul, who was assigned to the Joint Combat Camera Management Unit at Camp Liberty in 2005.
During Rodriguez's 2005 deployment, he survived several close calls, including one where a fuse lit on an improvised explosive device under the Humvee he was riding in. Fortunately, the IED didn't detonate. Rodriguez was later recognized for his contributions during that deployment with the 2005 Darryl G. Winters Award, an award that recognizes combat camera personnel who provide excellent Combat Camera support, despite the possibility of placing themselves in harm's way.
“On one mission he was on, a sniper attempted to shoot him in the head. In a split second decision, he moved and the bullet landed in the wall right next him,“ said Lt. Col. Bruce Bender, 4th Combat Camera Squadron commander. “Pretty close call there, but thankfully, and by the grace of God, he was able to sneak away from that one and come home to us safely.”
Rodriguez volunteered for his third deployment to Iraq in 2007 where he was assigned to the United States Special Operations Command in Balad. He documented multiple helicopter assaults into known insurgent areas. He earned the Air Force Combat Action Medal for his actions during a firefight that wounded Senior Master Sgt. Tom Coffin, a 4th Combat Camera colleague.
“He was the best ‘Battle Buddy’ you could want,” said Coffin, who recently retired.
For Rodriguez, the 4th Combat Camera Squadron represents the epitome of esprit de corps and he says the squadron is like one big family. Despite hopes of returning to duty, Rodriguez was medically retired from the military on August 21. Regardless of his retirement status, members of the squadron have conveyed that they will always consider him part of their family.
“He would have stayed longer. He would still be here,” said Coffin .
Rodriguez is awaiting a heart transplant.
“They have called him twice with a heart, got him to the hospital, prepped him for surgery and both times the heart was a bad fit, “ said Coffin.
"Jorge is my hero...He is Combat Camera's hero," said Tech. Sgt. Neil Ballecer, a 4th Combat Camera videographer. "If I can be respected and admired half as much as my hero Jorge, I know that I have lived a good life.”
Rodriguez is now considering a stem cell therapy trial that may help re-grow the damaged sections of his heart.
Knight said, and other 4th Combat Camera Squadron members agree, “He is truly a fighter, a warrior and will always be Combat Camera.”
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2010 01:52 |
| Story ID: | 55926 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 512 |
| Downloads: | 20 |
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