Photo By Capt. Hans Zeiger | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Eric Sanchez, assigned to the 194th Logistics Readiness...... read more read more
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When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Master Sgt. Eric Sanchez of the Washington Air National Guard’s 194th Logistics Readiness Squadron immediately thought of his family back in Puerto Rico. For three weeks, Sanchez didn’t know anything about his family’s well-being. He worried about his brother, his aunts and uncles.
Born in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Sanchez moved around the United States as a child. His father was in the Army. Eventually, the family returned to U.S. Army Garrison Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico. After high school, Sanchez joined the Puerto Rico Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Wing.
After he moved to Washington State to work for the Army’s Joint Personal Property Shipping Office at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Sanchez joined the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing in their vehicle operations unit. He worked his way up from staff sergeant to technical sergeant at the 142nd, and he became the non-commissioned officer in charge for his unit. Twice he deployed to Kuwait.
In 2016, Sanchez transferred to the Washington Air National Guard’s 194th Wing to take a full-time job in the Wing’s traffic management office at Camp Murray, managing shipping and receiving.
So when the hurricane hit Puerto Rico, Sanchez was in a good position as a Guard member to offer his help.
“I started pinging leadership,” he said. He told Lt. Col. Chris Panush, then his squadron commander, “If there’s anything I can do to help, send me.”
A call went out for a transportation non-commissioned officer in charge for the 165th Airlift Wing at Savannah, Georgia, the central hub for military transport to and from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He worked the night shift, helping to transport supplies for delivery and welcoming hurricane refugees upon their arrival to Savannah. As he worked, he saw a way that he could help his family while serving his country. “I saw that there were people taking extra supplies,” he said. “I wanted to send supplies and a generator to my brother.”
Two weeks into his time in Savannah, Sanchez shared his story with 165th Airlift leaders. No less than an hour and a half later, he was on a flight manifest. “I ran out to Home Depot and bought a generator,” he said, “Enough to power my brother’s whole home.” He arranged to bring the generator with him, and the crew gladly strapped it in. “Off I went,” said Sanchez.
In Puerto Rico, Sanchez was assigned to help unload supplies at the airport in San Juan. During the four-day mission, Sanchez had a brief time to go to his brother’s home. “I had my brother swing by and pick me up. I went back to my brother’s house. It was tough to see. I took off my uniform and helped to hook up the generator,” he said. “There were essential items they still needed, but [the generator] powered things like the fridge that were needed to get by.”
Sanchez’s brother was in the process of adopting a child at the time the hurricane struck. “When the hurricane hit, the government had a huge necessity to get kids to homes,” he said. “They accepted two kids in the midst of the hurricane, with no running water, no electricity.”
Later, Sanchez had an opportunity to go back a second time to Puerto Rico, this time for five days. On that trip he was not only able to visit his brother’s family but also to bring supplies to his wife’s family and to a girl with disabilities who was related to friends from his church.
“It was humbling to be able to go back home,” Sanchez said of his two trips into Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the hurricane.
As a Guard member, Sanchez appreciates “the opportunities you get, the people you get to meet,” he said. “It is a privilege to be able to serve the community, to serve the state.” In August 2018, Sanchez took a key logistics and transportation role for a joint service humanitarian training mission called Tropic Care Maui County 2018, supporting no-cost medical, dental, and vision services for the public at the University of Hawaii Maui College.
Sanchez’s commitment to service and his character are attractive to others, said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Soulier, superintendent of the 194th Logistics Readiness Squadron. Soulier commended Sanchez’s “personality-driven leadership.”
Outside of his job in the Air National Guard, Sanchez is involved in his church, leading worship and taking part in a small group program. He and his wife have a 13-year old son and an eight-year old daughter.
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2018 12:12 |
| Story ID: | 291961 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 395 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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