PIQUA — Master Sergeant Sam Aguirre has been stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, since May 29, preparing for deployment to Kuwait.
He will not spend Father’s Day with his wife, Becky, of 15 years and their blended family of six children ranging from 14 to 31 years old. The family will instead communicate by email, phone and Skype for the next 11 months. Becky gets teary-eyed when she thinks about past wars and the soldiers who were limited to communicating by postal service.
“We have it so good,” Becky said. “Some of those soldiers were in places where they could not be contacted.”
As a civilian, Sam works as a federal technician for the 891st Battalion in Iola. In layman terms, he is an auto mechanic. This is the third time he has been deployed during the 31 years he has served in the Army National Guard Reserves. The first two times, in 2004 and 2008, he received orders to deploy to Iraq. This time, Sam volunteered to serve with soldiers from the 635th Brigade of Topeka.
“I was surprised initially,” Becky said of Sam’s decision to volunteer.
He elected to change his military application skill from federal technician to cook so that he could serve as part of the Support for Operation Spartan Shield regime.
“The reason that I joined was to serve my country,” Sam said during a telephone call initiated by his daughters Felicitas and Ilennia. “It’s all about serving my country and doing what we can get done in order to keep peace.”
Becky typically does the cooking, so when Sam was sent to Salina for culinary training in April, family members couldn’t help but tease him.
“He sent a picture of a chocolate pudding pie. It was funny,” Becky said. “We teased him that when he gets home he’s going to be cooking all of the meals.”
Sam is devoted to serving his country. That commitment often demands sacrifice. Still, he sets aside time to cruise the town with Ilennia and take her for motorcycle rides. Fishing expeditions are often family events. A family vacation was spent in Branson, Mo.
Sam said he was looking forward to the phone calls and cards that he will receive for Father’s Day.
“I may not get them right on Father’s Day, but that is not the point,” he said. “The point is they were thinking of me.”
Sam’s grandson, Kaden Ludwig, said is looking forward to shooting a game of pool with his grandfather once he returns. Becky began anticipating Sam’s return before he left the states. A tree in front of the family’s home will be adorned Sunday with a yellow ribbon.
“He is my rock,” Becky said. “He’s the strength in this family. We would be lost without him.”
As his wife and daughters gathered around the cell phone to end the conversation, Sam expressed his sentiments.
“I love you girls,” he said.
