SGT. Manuel “Manny” Rivera
US National Guard - Avionics Mechanic
2nd Battalion 104th Aviation Regiment
Tallil, Iraq 2009
Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan 2012
US National Guard - Avionics Mechanic
2nd Battalion 104th Aviation Regiment
Tallil, Iraq 2009
Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan 2012
Manny Rivera was born in 1966 in Puerto Rico in the town of Catano. Manny has a brother and two sisters and comes from a very patriotic family. His great grandfather was a bugler in WWI and his uncles served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. While attending high school in Puerto Rico he talked to a recruiter, and he decided to take the ASVAB test in his senior year of high school. He went to the physical, talked with his mother and he was very interested in signing on but ultimately declined. He had a car and a girlfriend and that won out over the Army.
After high school Manny went to drafting school and when he graduated, he found a job creating engineering and architectural drawings and land surveys for Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lily and the U.S. Coast Guard. Manny was spending all his time behind a desk and he found that was not for him. In 1991 Manny moved to the Bronx in New York City. Manny found a job in the local supermarket and on the weekends, he did contracting work to make extra money.
While in the Bronx he met his future wife, and they were married in 1992 and had two children. Manny had friends in the Hartford, CT area and he decided to move his family and eventually settled in Farmington, Connecticut. From 1995 to 2003 Manny worked as a cook in a restaurant. He enjoyed being a cook, but he needed insurance benefits for his family. He began to look for other opportunities and found a job with full benefits in the Avon, CT school district.
Manny had always regretted not joining the military after high school. After 9/11 he was feeling angry, and he wanted to do his part for his country. In 2005, at the age of 39, Manny told his wife and two children he wanted to join the military. He would be able to enlist one year before the National Guard age cutoff of 40 year old.
Manny enlisted and signed a three year contract with the National Guard. He headed for nine weeks of training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina that included infantry tactics including how to handle various weapons. His next stop was Fort Eustis for 6 months of advanced individual training in electronics and avionics. Manny thought the training was easy. “It was just discipline and common sense.”
Manny was trained an Avionics Mechanic. He performed maintenance on critical communication and flight control equipment. Simply, he was responsible for keeping the helicopters flying. Manny felt this was a stressful job. Whenever he worked on a helicopter, he had to inventory all the tools he used to be sure one wasn’t left behind. A stray tool in the wrong place could cause the helicopter to crash.
After this initial training, Manny would spend one weekend each month training with his National Guard unit and once each year he would spend two consecutive weeks training. Manny’s unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq and Manny was happy to be going. Unfortunately, just prior to his deployment Manny was in a car accident and could not deploy. Manny fully recovered from his injuries and his contract was coming up for renewal. He was asked if he would like to extend his contract. Manny said yes, but only if he was assigned to a unit that was deploying. He signed his new contract and was assigned to a Chinook Helicopter Avionics Unit based out of Windsor Locks, CT and in 2009 his unit deployed to Iraq.
I asked Manny if he was worried about deploying and he said no, “I was prepared.” They landed in Kuwait where they received additional training. From there they headed to COB Adder in Tallil, Iraq. “It was super-hot…dirty all the time. Cold, hot it doesn’t matter. You have to work.” Manny recalls the temperature reaching 120 degrees during the day and dropping to 90 degrees at night. It was so hot he had to wear gloves to work on the helicopters to avoid being burned. On days when there were no missions Manny would check their equipment to make sure it was in proper working order. The only time Manny left the base was by helicopter. This tour lasted one year.
When he returned, his training continued. He attended avionics school to learn advanced avionics on the new F model helicopters that were more computerized than the older analog helicopters.
In 2012 Manny’s unit deployed to Afghanistan. He landed in Kandahar on December 24th, 2012. After a month his unit headed to base Tarin Kowt to support the Australian Special Forces. Tarin Kowt was in a remote area of southern Afghanistan. Manny recalls the climate being like Connecticut’s but with far less rain. He also recalled certain missions where the Australians used Military Working Dogs and sometimes returned with Insurgents for questioning.
The base in Afghanistan was very close to an Afghan village. Manny recalls times when he would hear the call to prayer followed by a rocket attack on the base. Rocket attacks could come at any time and when they did everyone would take cover. There were two attempts by suicide bombers to penetrate the front gates, but both were thwarted by the 50 caliber machine gunners. On another occasion the Americans received intelligence that explosives had been planted in the camp. Insurgents had cut through the concertina wire. While Kandahar had sensors on the perimeter fences, a remote outpost like Tarin Kowt did not. No one was injured. Again, the only time Manny left the base was by helicopter.
Manny recalled one day while heading to the chow hall he thought he caught the aroma of beans and fried chicken reminding him of his time growing up in Puerto Rico. “I thought I was hallucinating!” As he was passing by the building where the aroma was coming from, a door opened and a Sergeant with the 3rd ID, also from Puerto Rico, asked Manny if he’d like some of his feast. Manny enjoy his trip down memory lane. When he wasn’t working, entertainment consisted of playing dominos with the Chaplain, playing cards and volleyball.
Being in a remote location in the mountains of Afghanistan Manny did see the serious combat injuries that other groups saw that were closer to the enemy. On one occasion Manny had to accompany one of his buddies who sustained a seriously broken leg. They went by medivac helicopter to the hospital in Kandahar. While Manny was waiting for his buddies to be taken care of, he saw the medivac helicopters bringing the seriously wounded servicemen and women from combat sites. Doctors were running frantically from room to room to handle a steady flow of injured being brought in on stretchers. Manny found it shocking to see such young guys so seriously wounded and it brought the realities of war to his doorstep.
Manny said that when it was your time to come home there was mixed emotions because you were leaving a part of you behind but at the same time you were going home to your family. “While you are there, your family is the people you spend every day with.” While he was in-country he would occasionally wish to be back in the USA; anywhere in the USA because the quality of life is so much better. “It is a great feeling to be here.”
Manny talked about the adjustment coming back home. “You are trained to survive. Here is more relaxed.” It takes a while to sleep through the night.
In August of 2015 Manny retired from the reserves after serving 10 years. He resigned to take care of his wife who had developed Lupus. Manny made some good relationships and got to travel throughout the United States and Canada for training.
Manny is a member of the staff at Pine Grove Elementary in Avon Connecticut. The student population is first through fourth grade. On Veterans Day Manny enjoys speaking to the students about his time in the service. They like to ask “Mr. Manny” questions about his time in the military.
“If they gave me a chance to go again, I would go. It was a lot of sacrifice. You are living in a country that you don’t know with a lot of people you don’t know. I was doing something that I wanted to do. I wanted to be part of history.”
Thank you, Manny, for the sacrifices you and your family made so you could keep those helicopters safe and in the air in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pretty good for a guy who joined at the age of 39.
After high school Manny went to drafting school and when he graduated, he found a job creating engineering and architectural drawings and land surveys for Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lily and the U.S. Coast Guard. Manny was spending all his time behind a desk and he found that was not for him. In 1991 Manny moved to the Bronx in New York City. Manny found a job in the local supermarket and on the weekends, he did contracting work to make extra money.
While in the Bronx he met his future wife, and they were married in 1992 and had two children. Manny had friends in the Hartford, CT area and he decided to move his family and eventually settled in Farmington, Connecticut. From 1995 to 2003 Manny worked as a cook in a restaurant. He enjoyed being a cook, but he needed insurance benefits for his family. He began to look for other opportunities and found a job with full benefits in the Avon, CT school district.
Manny had always regretted not joining the military after high school. After 9/11 he was feeling angry, and he wanted to do his part for his country. In 2005, at the age of 39, Manny told his wife and two children he wanted to join the military. He would be able to enlist one year before the National Guard age cutoff of 40 year old.
Manny enlisted and signed a three year contract with the National Guard. He headed for nine weeks of training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina that included infantry tactics including how to handle various weapons. His next stop was Fort Eustis for 6 months of advanced individual training in electronics and avionics. Manny thought the training was easy. “It was just discipline and common sense.”
Manny was trained an Avionics Mechanic. He performed maintenance on critical communication and flight control equipment. Simply, he was responsible for keeping the helicopters flying. Manny felt this was a stressful job. Whenever he worked on a helicopter, he had to inventory all the tools he used to be sure one wasn’t left behind. A stray tool in the wrong place could cause the helicopter to crash.
After this initial training, Manny would spend one weekend each month training with his National Guard unit and once each year he would spend two consecutive weeks training. Manny’s unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq and Manny was happy to be going. Unfortunately, just prior to his deployment Manny was in a car accident and could not deploy. Manny fully recovered from his injuries and his contract was coming up for renewal. He was asked if he would like to extend his contract. Manny said yes, but only if he was assigned to a unit that was deploying. He signed his new contract and was assigned to a Chinook Helicopter Avionics Unit based out of Windsor Locks, CT and in 2009 his unit deployed to Iraq.
I asked Manny if he was worried about deploying and he said no, “I was prepared.” They landed in Kuwait where they received additional training. From there they headed to COB Adder in Tallil, Iraq. “It was super-hot…dirty all the time. Cold, hot it doesn’t matter. You have to work.” Manny recalls the temperature reaching 120 degrees during the day and dropping to 90 degrees at night. It was so hot he had to wear gloves to work on the helicopters to avoid being burned. On days when there were no missions Manny would check their equipment to make sure it was in proper working order. The only time Manny left the base was by helicopter. This tour lasted one year.
When he returned, his training continued. He attended avionics school to learn advanced avionics on the new F model helicopters that were more computerized than the older analog helicopters.
In 2012 Manny’s unit deployed to Afghanistan. He landed in Kandahar on December 24th, 2012. After a month his unit headed to base Tarin Kowt to support the Australian Special Forces. Tarin Kowt was in a remote area of southern Afghanistan. Manny recalls the climate being like Connecticut’s but with far less rain. He also recalled certain missions where the Australians used Military Working Dogs and sometimes returned with Insurgents for questioning.
The base in Afghanistan was very close to an Afghan village. Manny recalls times when he would hear the call to prayer followed by a rocket attack on the base. Rocket attacks could come at any time and when they did everyone would take cover. There were two attempts by suicide bombers to penetrate the front gates, but both were thwarted by the 50 caliber machine gunners. On another occasion the Americans received intelligence that explosives had been planted in the camp. Insurgents had cut through the concertina wire. While Kandahar had sensors on the perimeter fences, a remote outpost like Tarin Kowt did not. No one was injured. Again, the only time Manny left the base was by helicopter.
Manny recalled one day while heading to the chow hall he thought he caught the aroma of beans and fried chicken reminding him of his time growing up in Puerto Rico. “I thought I was hallucinating!” As he was passing by the building where the aroma was coming from, a door opened and a Sergeant with the 3rd ID, also from Puerto Rico, asked Manny if he’d like some of his feast. Manny enjoy his trip down memory lane. When he wasn’t working, entertainment consisted of playing dominos with the Chaplain, playing cards and volleyball.
Being in a remote location in the mountains of Afghanistan Manny did see the serious combat injuries that other groups saw that were closer to the enemy. On one occasion Manny had to accompany one of his buddies who sustained a seriously broken leg. They went by medivac helicopter to the hospital in Kandahar. While Manny was waiting for his buddies to be taken care of, he saw the medivac helicopters bringing the seriously wounded servicemen and women from combat sites. Doctors were running frantically from room to room to handle a steady flow of injured being brought in on stretchers. Manny found it shocking to see such young guys so seriously wounded and it brought the realities of war to his doorstep.
Manny said that when it was your time to come home there was mixed emotions because you were leaving a part of you behind but at the same time you were going home to your family. “While you are there, your family is the people you spend every day with.” While he was in-country he would occasionally wish to be back in the USA; anywhere in the USA because the quality of life is so much better. “It is a great feeling to be here.”
Manny talked about the adjustment coming back home. “You are trained to survive. Here is more relaxed.” It takes a while to sleep through the night.
In August of 2015 Manny retired from the reserves after serving 10 years. He resigned to take care of his wife who had developed Lupus. Manny made some good relationships and got to travel throughout the United States and Canada for training.
Manny is a member of the staff at Pine Grove Elementary in Avon Connecticut. The student population is first through fourth grade. On Veterans Day Manny enjoys speaking to the students about his time in the service. They like to ask “Mr. Manny” questions about his time in the military.
“If they gave me a chance to go again, I would go. It was a lot of sacrifice. You are living in a country that you don’t know with a lot of people you don’t know. I was doing something that I wanted to do. I wanted to be part of history.”
Thank you, Manny, for the sacrifices you and your family made so you could keep those helicopters safe and in the air in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pretty good for a guy who joined at the age of 39.