Home for the Holidays

Thanksgiving is a time when we pause long enough – possibly one of the few times in our hectic lives – to reflect on the blessings of our abundant life. No matter how great the blessing, we all are able to find thankfulness.

For those who have been away from their loved ones, those who have put their life on the line to ensure the abundant life for which we give thanks, theirs is an especially thankful Thanksgiving.

Jeremiah Lopez just got home on Nov. 15, and is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with family and friends, as well as scouting out a new future in a college career.

But as a military veteran, he cherishes his service to his country, and plans to continue to serve because it is so much a part of what made him the man he is today.

At age 24, Jeremiah has done more in his career with the military than many accomplish by 40. And he’s just getting started.

This is Jeremiah’s first Thanksgiving back home since 2005.

“I’m a true hometown kid,” Jeremiah says. “I graduated high school in 2005, and I knew I wanted to serve my country in some capacity, but I didn’t know exactly how.”

Jeremiah’s first career consideration was with the Army reserves, but soon the sky came calling.

“I ended up choosing the Air Force against my dad’s wishes, because he wanted me to go to college,” he says. “But it was more important to me to serve my country at the time.”

A devout advocate of hard work and ambition, Jeremiah eventually made Staff Sergeant E-5, and made schoolhouse instructor at age 21.

“That was a big accomplishment for me,” he says.

Sept. 11 occurred when he was a high school freshman, and, at the time, Jeremiah didn’t see the full impact it would have on the country.

“Eventually, though, I did,” he says. “And I enlisted for six years.”

Jeremiah next entered basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in November 2005, and graduated on Dec. 30, 2005.

“I was guaranteed the job of an airborne surveillance technician,” he recalls.

“Then I went to Spokane, Wash., for another couple of weeks to do survival training,” he says. “This included how to handle our plane going down, and how to evade enemy forces.”

Jeremiah was next assigned to Tinker Air Force Base, just outside of Oklahoma City.

“I did some more training there, and became a mission operator in March 2007,” he says. “Two months later, I deployed to the Middle East. I was based out of the United Arab Emirates in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.”

Jeremiah also flew three missions over Iraq and 20 over Afghanistan, both in a six -month period.

“I flew on a modified Boeing 707 that had radar, and my job was to detect any air activity that wasn’t supposed to be happening,” he says.

When Jeremiah returned to the United States, he received a community college Air Force degree and became a schoolhouse instructor.

“I taught the coursework for airborne surveillance to those who were coming fresh out of basic military training,” he says. “This would help shape them into what I was doing overseas.

“I had done some college while I was in the military, taking advantage of all the benefits our military has to offer,” he says. “After six years of service, my priorities have kind of shifted. Now it’s more about getting a quality education, and one of my lifetime dreams is to attend Texas A&M University. If that wasn’t a main priority for me, I probably would have stayed in the military.”

However, Jeremiah did sign up as an Air Force reserve. He says he wants to keep that connection because service to his country is such a big part of who he is.

“I already applied at Texas A&M for the spring semester 2012, and will find out the status of the application in December,” he says. “My primary major will be agricultural leadership and development, and my secondary is community development. I have a feeling that my calling is some type of public service. I don’t know what capacity, but I do know I want to help people.”

So what is the possibility of Jeremiah having a family in the future?

“I haven’t gotten married or had any kids, but as I get older, I consider it more,” he says. “I really didn’t want to have my family being exposed to my being gone all the time. That would not have been good for them, or me, so I waited.

“My family and friends are all here in Gonzales, and that’s very important to me,” he says. “My family values are one of my biggest priorities, and I’m fortunate that I’m able to spend the holidays with them.”

Jeremiah plans to work at McCoy’s in Bastrop until the beginning of the school semester.

“I wanted to get back to doing something a little less taxing, and that job will help me wind down and get back into a more civilian mode,” he says. “Trust me – there’s a big difference!”

So how does it feel to be back home in time for the holidays?

“It’s awesome!” he says. “It’s easy to take for granted being with family, especially during the holidays. I think of all the guys still overseas defending our flag and freedom. They’re defending our privilege to spend this time with the ones we love, and I hope and pray for all of them to come back.”