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SOUTHWEST
ASIA, March 2010 –
After Sept. 11, 2001,
Air Force Staff Sgt.
Sparkle Reid was a
different person. She
was in one of the
2,973 families who
grieved after losing a
family member in the
tragedy.
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Air
Force
Staff
Sgt.
Sparkle
Reid
is
deployed
to an
air
base
in
Southwest
Asia
from
the
48th
Force
Support
Squadron
at
Lakenheath,
England.
U.S.
Air
Force
photo
by
Master
Sgt.
Scott
T.
Sturkol
(Click
photo
for
screen-resolution
image);high-resolution
image
available.
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Reid lost her uncle,
Louie A. Williams,
when the World Trade
Center towers came
down. He worked on the
66th floor in the
North Tower for the
New York Port
Authority as a
paralegal. She had
what she called
"one of those
deep cries."
On Feb. 27, 2009, Reid
lost her father,
Charles T. Reid, after
complications from
surgery. Again, she
cried.
Now deployed as the
nonappropriated funds
custodian for the
380th Expeditionary
Force Support Squadron
at an air base in
Southwest Asia, Reid
said she looked up to
both men.
"I looked up to
them full of love and
inspiration," the
Queens, N.Y, native
said. "My uncle
really wanted me to
finish school, so that
inspired my
enlistment.
"With my dad, he
was so proud of
me," added Reid,
who is deployed from
the 48th Force Support
Squadron at Lakenheath,
England. "He'd
say, 'My baby girl is
in the military.’
We'd just started to
rebuild our
relationship when he
passed. It hurt, a
lot, to lose them
both, but their deaths
inspired me to be a
better person. It
inspired me to love
and to forgive,
because you never know
when you won't have
someone in your life
anymore."
Reid has been in the
Air Force for nearly
seven years. Though
she joined the
military with the
intention of
furthering her
education, she said,
her service has given
her even more.
"I have more
stability in the
military than I did as
a civilian," she
explained.
"Originally, I
wanted to go into the
Army to be like my
uncles and my dad. But
my uncle told me, 'If
you go, go to the Air
Force.' There is a
certain amount of
pride that comes with
being an airman. As
far as being deployed,
in my opinion, this is
our real job. What we
do at home station
just prepares us to
come here and complete
our mission."
In her current job
Reid prepares a
quarterly budget and
ensures inventories
are completed and
reported. She also
completes financial
statements, reconciles
them and forwards them
to theater command
every month. She also
purchases equipment
for nonappropriated
funds facilities.
"I have to make
sure nonappropriated
funds from
self-generated
activities are used to
increase the quality
of life and morale of
our deployed
airmen," Reid
said.
Squadron leaders took
notice, and nominated
her for the honor she
earned as the wing’s
"Warrior of the
Week" for the
week of Feb. 17 to 23.
"She's a
hard-working airman
and deserves the
recognition for her
can-do attitude every
day," said Air
Force Senior Master
Sgt. Mark Miller,
380th Expeditionary
Force Support Squadron
first sergeant.
Reid appreciates the
recognition, but she
emphasized that her
work is "all
about the team"
and that she'll
continue to work hard
and also try to
complete some goals on
her deployment.
The airman said the
memory of her departed
father and uncle
inspires her to do the
best job she can every
day.
"I like the
small-town feeling
this deployed base has
and it will help me
work to complete at
least half of my
Community College of
the Air Force degree
and to study for
[promotion to]
technical
sergeant," Reid
said. "I know my
dad and my uncle would
be proud of me for
what I'm doing on this
deployment. It's their
inspiration that keeps
me going."
(Air Force Master Sgt.
Scott T. Sturkol
serves in the 380th
Air Expeditionary Wing
public affairs
office.)
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