 Hello, I'm Elizabeth Pompay with DAV and you're about to watch an interview with Rafael Sierra, a DAV Benefits Advocate and Army Combat Veteran. Rafael enlisted in 1993 as a combat medic, served in Iraq and Afghanistan and retired in 2018. In this interview Rafael shares his journey from growing up in Panama City, Panama to serving in the most elite military in the world and becoming an American citizen. Enjoy. So I was born in Panama City, Panama, and to be more specific in an area called Ría Bajo, Paquete Febre, Calle Quinta, and Loma Morgan. So those are different places like Paquete Febre is sort of the city, Ría Bajo is like the neighborhood. Calle Quinta would mean fifth street. And then at the end of fifth street, it was this long hill and it used to be called Loma Morgan. And that's where I lived. It was wonderful growing up in Panama was so simple. Things were what I would consider to be the good old days, you know. Just to, I mean, I was young. And just to put it in perspective, I would go to school, I would get home, hang out my uniform. And then all I had to do just put on some shorts and run out the door. No shoes, no shirt, nothing else. And no one would have to, you know, even bat an eye on it, you know, it was just, it was normal. Nobody, kids didn't wear shoes and shirts, you know. And so, but it was so simple. Everyone in my neighborhood knew each other. All the parents were like, could have been your aunts or uncles, you know, and, and it was great. I really enjoyed living in Panama. I had a lot of friends in my neighborhood and there is no worries. So how old were you when you left Panama? And what was that like for you, especially because it sounds like you really loved your community and your home. So what was that like for you? Devastating. I couldn't, I couldn't get over it for like the past. I mean, for the first four years and so I just get thinking one day we're going to go back to Panama, you know, it was sort of a wrap abruptly. My parents divorced and in search of a better future, my mom decided to just leave everything behind and move to the US. So we literally sold everything that we could and bought suitcases, a suitcase for each person or the family. So my brother, sister, mom and I, each had a suitcase and moved to the US to go to school. So when and why did you start to consider serving in the military? How did that happen? Well, when I was in high school, I was part of a program. It was called Future Leaders of America. And what that was is you would go to school for half a day and you would knock out all your core classes. And then, and so then after lunch, you would actually go to work. You have a job that would, you know, collect all your hours. They would have to fill out like a weekly report that you take back to your counselor at school. And that was in preparation for you to become, you know, a future leader in America. And so my high school year, I was never part of a, you know, like an after school team or anything like that. I was just always working to help provide for the rest of the family. So my, my mom worked, my brother worked, my sister, we all worked to make ends meet in Miami, pay the bills. And so, so that was one of my main things I always, I always wanted to provide and help provide for the family. Like I said, I grew older and I started understanding that we were going to stay in the US. And this, this was our new beginning. And so I wanted a new beginning. And I thought, if I joined the military, I could learn a skill that I could use towards that, you know, whatever the future was going to be. And, and if I didn't like it, at least I had a skill that I could do, and, you know, continue to do whatever that was. And so when I, when I joined the military, my recruiter offered me to be a medic. And I remember going back to my mom and asking, you know, what do you think about, you know, being a medic, you know, an EMT, and she thought, Hey, you know, that'd be great if you don't like it, you could get out and you could continue as an EMT perhaps a paramedic one day. So that was the plan. And if you stayed in the military for, I think it was seven or eight years, then you would automatically would become a resident. I mean, a citizen. And so when you joined the military. I mean how much was that part of the equation, the idea that you can get citizenship through your service. It was, it was definitely part of the equation, because I knew that a lot of people were not getting that opportunity. I knew that, I mean, you'd see it on like on TV, and you know, a lot of people were being deported and, and having to go back to the country that they came from. And so I knew that this is a big deal. And it was almost like a win-win situation. You know, not only do I get a skill that I learned. And by the way, you get, you know, a room board, you get meals, you get, I mean, and then you get the recognition of being in the most elite military in the world, you know. I mean, it, it was just like, why wouldn't, why wouldn't I, and then I knew also that my mom would be very proud, you know, to be able to see me as an American soldier and see her dreams be realized. You know, of a better, you know, feature for her family. And for my family in the future, you know, soon after my AIT. I got orders to go to Germany. And, and that was really different. Germany was not, and Germany in the military was just, it was just great. It was just a blast. Like my unit that I, that I was assigned to was 126 infantry out of Schreimfurt, Germany. And it was a, it was an infantry unit, and we had a medical platoon. And I'll never forget, the day we arrived, the whole medical platoon came to pick me up at the bus station. And it was just a whole bunch of medics. I think it was like 30, 33 medics. They came to just like round me up like we got a new medic and, and they just got all my bags and we went to the barracks and everybody was just like they're waiting with drinks in hand and it was a Friday night that I arrived too. So yeah, the camaraderie of the medical platoon was just awesome. It was just great. It was just like, I just made a whole bunch of brothers. And, and we would train hard, work hard and we would play hard. And it was always, you know, there was never like a time where I was by myself. There was always few other medics, or even few other infantry or just other soldiers that, that, you know, you connect with. And, and that set the motion for me to stay in the army for 24 years. Because it was always like that, you know, it, everywhere you went, you connect with, with, you know, with your staff, with your other MOS is, and there is never a, you know, you never felt alone, you know, you never felt lonely and just, and if it wasn't, you would make it that way. And so I went from one enlistment to two enlistments to, and it just kept going. Every, every enlistment I just like, oh no, I could do this for more, you know, and, and then eventually I met my wife. And we, we got sent to Iraq together. And in Iraq, I, it's where I met my 10 year mark. And I came up for reenlistment and after the 10 year mark, when you reenlist, you reenlist for an indefinite. It was, that was a big deal, because now you know that, hey, there's no going back, you know. And so, but I was fine. I knew that I wanted to keep doing it. And I knew that it only be a matter of time till I hit 20 years. What was your time in Iraq like Iraq. There's, there's different, there's different feelings about Iraq. I was lucky. I was lucky for several reasons. One, that my first, so my first daily station, it was that infantry unit I spoke about. We were deployed to Macedonia. We were deployed to Bosnia later with my second unit in Germany, we were deployed to Kosovo. And so those were all, although they were not combat environment. There were UN, there were peacekeeping missions, but everything was still very much the same, you know, you're still at a, you know, heightened alert status, right. You know, you're just not strolling around town and civilian clothes, you know, you're still in full uniform, you still have a full load of rounds. And so that helped me as a medic, prepare to, like, how to be ready, what to expect. And then some of the, some of the injuries that could happen. And so when I went into Iraq, I really had a good idea what to expect. I mean, I wasn't ready for motor attacks every day, you know, two or three times a day. But mentally and physically I already knew what sort of what to expect. And, and, and not to mention, I was there with Danielle, Danielle was a nurse, and I was a medic, we were in the same unit, the 67 combat support hospital. And so, at the end of the day, I had somebody to talk to, I had somebody to, you know, convey with. And I didn't feel the stress that other soldiers were feeling, you know, if they're a parent they had their, their kids back home or their spouse back home. And, and they were constantly thinking about that. And so at least I knew that, you know, my better half was right in the same area that I was. Right. And that was easier for me so that's what I meant about, you know, being, being a lucky person in Iraq. You know, here from some service members and veterans, you know, they might feel this kind of patriotic sense of duty to serve their country give back to their country. Did you feel that and, and, and if so kind of given that you were a resident not yet a citizen. What did that I guess feel like for you. Very many ways. I felt like the US have provided for me. And, and I still feel the same way like I do what I do now as a DAV national service officer, because I feel like I want to continue to give back to the veterans nowadays. Nowadays is to the veterans when I was in the army, it was, I was there to assist and provide, you know, for that, for that combat soldier and there's dependent. But then when I transition, I, that was like my way of life, and it just changed and I wasn't prepared to stop it. And so I feel now that I'm working for the DAV as an NSO national service officer. I can still give back to the veterans help them with their disability compensation claims with any VA benefits, because it's a complicated world the VA benefits side of the house. It's very complicated. And a lot of veterans don't understand it. I've been lucky that I understand several aspects of it I understand the medical injury part of it. And I'm able to put those together. And being that I've been there and done it myself. I could truly relate and be compassionate and, and put myself in their shoes and just go that extra mile to try to help the veteran out in figuring out their benefits and what they need. And not just for them but for their dependence and for the surviving spouses as well. Right. So, and I hope that one day someone will do the same for for my spouse when I pass so. So at what point did you apply for citizenship or how did that whole process work. And that came about automatically. I mean, one day I received the letter in the mail is like, exactly about eight years out. You know, it had all the the what he got us us stamps. You know, I was, was that I was stationed in in Fort Meade, Maryland, and I received the letter and I said hey you have an appointment, you know, to show up this day at this time for your for your, you know, racing at the right hand. And so, but I didn't, I didn't have to submit any paperwork or anything it just, the letter showed up. And I'm assuming it was just because, you know, I was in the military and it was part of the program, or part of the, the signing up deal so. It used to such like convoluted bureaucratic processes that it's nice for something to be so automated and actually work. That's what I was thinking, you know, people you say they wait years and they tried and tried and, and, you know, they would never, you know, and one day, and that's why I think it was just because I was still in the military it was easier for them to just process and say okay this individual, you know, he's serving here, send them the letter and let's get them in here and get it done and so it is just a great moment I, I attended the ceremony, and I didn't know what to expect. There's tons of people there, and you go into this big room. You raise your hand, you swear in, and, and then that's it they you get the certificate at the house. I immediately sent it to my mom and she was super excited and happy and proud of me and, and that's how I just things turned out. It was another moment where, you know, you, you make your, your parent proud of you and help realize her dream, you know that she knew that we'd be better off, you know, in the United States of America with all our liberties and our freedoms and, and our way of life and so, yeah, it was, it was great is a truly honest truly honored to be able to do that. If you can put yourself back in your 12 year old self. You just arrived in Miami. Not happy about it. Do you think you ever could have imagined what your life here would have been like. Oh, not it, not at all. My, you know, I, I've shared this with some, some, not too many people, but my dreams. My dream growing up in Panama was, I wanted to be a bus driver and nothing, nothing wrong with being a bus driver. But that was like my ultimate dream. That's, that's like what I could imagine myself doing for the rest of my life. And it was just being a bus driver. And never in my life would I ever imagine that, you know, one that I would live in the US to serve in the most elite military in the entire world. We meet so many different people, experience so many cultures, do everything, or so much that I've done, marry an American, an American person. Green, you know, green eyes, blonde hair, never, you know, and when you're growing up in Panama, you don't even think about that, you know, that was never. And then being able to accomplish so much. My, both my kids were born in the US, their first generation. We live in a nice neighborhood. You know, have a nice house and live in the American dream. It's just, I don't know, I could, I could have never imagined as when I was 12 years old, I could have never, ever thought that I'd be where I'm at today.