Hispanic Heritage in the Defense Department

Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, MSgt Ramirez lived and travelled as a youth in South America, primarily in Colombia. He graduated from Bergen County High School in 1990.

In 1991, MSgt Ramirez joined the Marine Corps and served as a Maintenance Management Analyst where he soon deployed to Somalia with I Marine Expeditionary Force in support of Operation RESTORE HOPE. In 1995, MSgt Ramirez was accepted for duty a Marine Security Guard (MSG) and served in a variety of overseas billets until, in 1999, he successfully completed the rigorous Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Interrogator/Prisoner of War school and was awarded the 0251 Interrogator/Translator Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).

Following service with the 2d Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Intelligence Group, MSgt Ramirez completed the MAGTF Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence (CI/HUMINT) Transition Course and received the 0211 CI/HUMINT Specialist MOS. Owing to his superior professional competence and fluency in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and European Portuguese, MSgt Ramirez was hand selected to serve two overseas postings with the Defense Attaché Office in Latin America. Additionally, MSgt Ramirez served as the CI/HUMINT Detachment Chief with the 22 Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and completed multiple deployments with both 1st and 2d CI/HUMINT Companies. MSgt Ramirez assumed his current duties as the CI/HUMINT Branch Chief, US Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) G-2 in July 2014. During his tenure with MARFORPAC, MSgt Ramirez’ distinguished contributions to the intelligence collection and force protection efforts of the Command include the management of more than 270 counterintelligence case files, the production of more than 100 Intelligence Information Reports, and direct support to two high-profile, joint Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counter-espionage investigations. MSgt Ramirez also managed sensitive CI/HUMINT operations in Hawaii, on the US mainland, and overseas, resulting in the successful deployment of numerous tactical CI/HUMINT platforms, including the formation of Joint Task Force 505 to provide relief operations in Nepal following a devastating earthquake that ravaged that nation in April 2015.

In addition to his diverse operational background, MSgt Ramirez remains a top technical expert in the intelligence discipline as evidenced by his comprehensive educational background. His formal training includes the aforementioned MSG and MAGTF Interrogator and CI/HUMINT Courses, Airborne School, Antiterrorism Force Protection Instructor Course, the Defense Strategic Debriefing Course, the Antiterrorism Driving Course, the Joint Military Attaché Operations Course, Staff NCO Advanced Course, the REID Technique of Interrogation and Interview Course, the USPACOM Intelligence Collections Managers Course, and the US Navy’s Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education Course.

As a dedicated leader, husband, and father of two sons, MSgt Ramirez also devotes a considerable amount of his personal time to coaching youth sports, including service as the head coach of several basketball, volleyball, and distance running teams. In addition to his passion for improving the physical and mental well-being of the young men and women of Hawaii, MSgt Ramirez continues to serve as a valued leader and mentor the Marines of MARFORPAC, often volunteering his time to educate junior Marines on the management of their careers and how to serve the community at large.

Air Force Lt. Col. Ignacio A. Assaf is the Deputy Maintenance Group Commander of the 159th Maintenance Group, Louisiana Air National Guard, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans.

In September 1989, then-Airmen Basic Assaf enlisted in the Louisiana Air National Guard as an Aerospace Propulsion Specialist in the 159th Fighter Wing Maintenance Squadron. In December 1998, he moved to the 159th Logistics Support Flight as a Maintenance Operations Center controller where he was promoted to Technical Sergeant. In October 2000, he received his commission from the Academy of Military Science in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the honor graduate and became the commander of the 159th Maintenance Operations Flight as an aircraft maintenance officer. Assaf graduated from the University of New Orleans in May 2003, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. In February 2004, he was appointed as the sortie generation officer of the 159th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and in 2007 was assigned as the commander. During this time, he assisted in the transition of the fighter wing’s primary assigned aircraft from F-15A models to F-15C model aircraft. Additionally, in 2005 during the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Assaf served at the Superdome assisting in the distribution of life preserving commodities to the citizens of Louisiana during those events. In March 2009, Assaf was appointed the commander of the 159th Maintenance Squadron, leading the squadron that he enlisted in 20 years previously. In February 2011, Assaf was appointed as the 159th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander, where he oversaw the relocation of the squadron’s personnel and equipment into the newly renovated warehouse. In 2012, he deployed with the fighter wing and was assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing as the aircraft maintenance unit commander at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia. In January 2013, Assaf was assigned to the National Guard Bureau Air National Guard Readiness Center located on Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. While there, he served as the Chief of Distribution in the Logistics Readiness Division of the Logistics and Installations Directorate. While there, he developed policy, provided guidance, and assisted the Logistics Readiness Division Chief and senior leadership on strategic recommendations for the 90 wings and 188 geographically separated units in the Air National Guard. In July 2016, he was appointed as the interim Chief of Logistics Readiness and led the division’s 46 member team in the logistics support of over 1,100 aircraft, 15,000 vehicles and 343,000 equipment items with over $6.4 billion dollars of assets. Assaf was assigned to the 159th Maintenance Group in August 2017.

Sergeant Garcia is the Administration Specialist for Marine Corps Forces, South, Doral Florida.

Sergeant Garcia enlisted in the Marine Corps on 27 January 2013. She completed recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC on 26 April 2013. She then completed Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger, Camp Lejeune NC. Sergeant Garcia graduated Personnel Administration School and attained the military occupation specialty of 0111. She was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal on 2 August 2013.

Upon completion of MOS school she received orders to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373. She was part of Headquarters and Service Company S-1. She was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 2 June 2014. Sergeant Garcia attended Corporals Course aboard MCAS Miramar during the summer of 2014.

In October 2016, Sergeant Garcia was attached to Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Central Command Crisis Response 16.2 and deployed to Bahrain in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, as the Assistant Administration Chief. Sergeant Garcia was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 1 April 2016.

Sergeant Garcia executed orders on 31 January 2017 to Marine Corps Forces South. She attended Uniformed Victim Advocate Training aboard MACS Miramar.

Sergeant Garcia enjoys volunteering with youth groups and plays tennis and participates in running races.

Sergeant Garcia has been awarded, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Certificate of Commendation, Certificate of Appreciation, Meritorious Mast, and Letters of Appreciation.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Irma Meza-Orozco is a dental assistant craftsman assigned to the 460th Medical Group, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado. She leads the dental infection control program and is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe workplace for dental health care personnel and 2,000 patients annually. Born in Tijuana B.C., Mexico, Meza-Orozco immigrated to the United States at the age 7 and became a United States citizen at age 17. She enlisted in the Air Force in 2005 and was assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base for her first duty station. While there, she completed the Oral Preventative Assistance Course, further enhancing her ability to positively impact active duty dental readiness. After four years, she was reassigned to the 59th Dental Group, Lackland Air Force Base. During her time at Lackland Air Force Base, she excelled as both the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of Dental Systems and Information Technology Equipment Custodian for the largest 59th Medical Wing IT equipment account valued at $1.5 million. Widely recognized as a skilled dental technician and leader, Meza- Orozco was selected for humanitarian missions to the Republic of Belize and Guatemala. Full utilization of her language skillsbridged language barriers and fortified United States-Belizean relations. She was recognized and coined by the Allied Forces Southern Europe Surgeon General representative for her outstanding efforts. In 2015, she was assigned to Osan Air Force Base, South Korea, where she streamlined inbound and outbound assignment processes. Currently, Meza-Orozco is assigned to Buckley Air Force Base, where she played a crucial role in opening the bases first Air Force dental clinic in 31 years. She was coined by the 460th Space Wing commander in recognition of her infection control knowledge and enthusiasm. She directly contributed to the 460th Dental Clinic’s infection control program earning a “best practice” by the Air Force Medical Operations Agency. She was hand-selected by the Air Force Medical Operations Agency for her vast knowledge with dental system programming to assist in the deployment of the $10 billion Electronic Health Record program DoD-wide. Currently, Meza-Orozco is pursuing a degree in Information Technology with emphasis in cybersecurity at Texas A&M - San Antonio University.

Giuseppe Furio was born on September 27th, 1982 in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights, Ohio in June of 2000. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and on August 14th, 2000 he shipped to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Upon completion of Recruit Training and Marine Combat Training, he reported to 29 Palms, California where he became a Multi-Channel Equipment Radio Operator. Upon completion of school, he reported Communications Company, H&S Battalion, 3rd Force Service Support Group, Okinawa, Japan. Lance Corporal Furio was selected to attend the Marine Security Guard School in Quantico, Virginia. Upon graduation in September of 2002 he was stationed at his first embassy in Dublin, Ireland. After his promotion to Corporal, he was reassigned to the American Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.

In 2005, Corporal Furio was reassigned to 9th Communications Battalion in Camp Pendleton, California where he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant assumed duties as the Platoon Sergeant for Alpha Company, Radio Platoon and deployed to Camp Fallujah Iraq from January 2006. On his return Sergeant Furio was re-assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. While deployed he supported humanitarian operations in Bangladesh. Additionally, Sergeant Furio was involved in training exercises in Kuwait. Returning to 9th Communications Battalion, Sergeant Furio deployed to Al Asad Iraq as the radio operator for a Mobile Operations Team supporting operations in the Ninawa Province. Returning to California, Staff Sergeant Furio received orders to the Basic Recruiters Course (BRC) at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California.

Upon graduation from BRC, Staff Sergeant Furio was posted to Recruiting Station Atlanta, Recruiting Sub-Station Stone Mountain. In May 2011 he became the Station Commander for Recruiting Sub-Station Buford in Buford, Ga. Staff Sergeant Furio was then assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment where he became the Communications Chief for Echo Battery. Staff Sergeant Furio was then attached to the 2nd Battalion 4th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Upon his return from deployment, Staff Sergeant Furio was reassigned to the 1st Marine Logistics Group, Combat Logistics Regiment 15. He was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant in July 2015 and assumed duties as the Regimental Radio Chief. In December 2015, Gunnery Sergeant Furio reported to Marine Forces Pacific where he currently serves as the North East Asia Plans Chief for the G-6. He has participated in numerous exercises in South Korea.

Gunnery Sergeant Furio is married with three boys and has been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with gold star in lieu of third award.

Mr. Manuel Aranda is assigned as Materiel Management and International Logistics Instructor, 837th Training Squadron, Inter-American Air Forces Academy, 37th Training Wing, JBSA-Lackland San Antonio Texas. He is responsible for providing technical training in Spanish to international military forces, national police, and governmental agencies from 21 Latin American countries. Moreover, Mr. Aranda directly supports USSOUTHCOM and USNORTHCOM mission in building partner capacity in Latin America by delivering technical assistance to military and police logistics personnel on matters associated with general supply systems and by participating in Mobile Training Teams and Subject Matter Expert Exchanges.

Mr. Aranda honorably retired from active duty in 2007 and entered civil service in 2008. He mentors a bilingual, selectively manned group of 6 military instructors and continued his professional development by earning the Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs certification level 3 in 2016. Finally, his background includes 20 years of active duty military service as Materiel Manager and upon his retirement as an acquisitions technician at the Department of Veterans Affairs San Antonio, Texas. Before assuming his current position, he was the Logistic Manager in Lima, Peru for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases.

Navy Lt. Victor H. Gutierrez was born in Pereira, Colombia, and enlisted in the Navy in August 1999. He attended basic training and seaman apprenticeship schools in Great Lakes, Illinois. In November 1999, he reported to the destroyer USS Oldendorf where he completed two deployments; a Western Pacific deployment in 2000 and South America Counter Drug Operations deployment in 2002. He advanced to disbursing clerk second class and earned his Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist pin.

In June 2003, Gutierrez reported to Personnel Support Detachment Coronado in San Diego and was part of the consolidation with Personnel Support Detachment North Island. While at PSD North Island, he was advanced to disbursing clerk first class and became qualified as a personnel specialist-advanced disbursing operations. In February 2005, he volunteered for an individual augmentee assignment to Joint Task Force Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. He served as the deputy disbursing officer supporting 14 countries during Operation Enduring Freedom.

In April 2007, he reported to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and served as the leading petty officer in the personnel office. He was promoted to chief petty officer and earned his Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist pin. Upon putting on his anchors, he assumed the duties of leading chief petty officer for both the personnel support and disbursing divisions. In April 2009, he completed a deployment to the Indian and Arabian gulfs in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In October 2011, he earned his bachelor’s degree in information technology management from National University, graduating cum laude.

In October 2010, he applied for the Limited Duty Officer program and was selected for commissioning. In March 2012, he was promoted to ensign.

In April 2012, Gutierrez reported to Strike Fighter Squadron 15 in Oceana, Virginia, and served as the admin department head. In February 2014, he embarked onboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush for a deployment to the Indian and Arabian gulfs in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Inherent Resolve. During this deployment, he earned his Officer of the Deck qualification and Surface Warfare Officer pin.

In June 2015, he reported to the 21st Century Sailor Office and is currently serving as the executive assistant and flag secretary.

Gutierrez’ decorations include Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (4th award), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3rd award), and various other campaign and unit awards.

Navy Capt. Guillermo “Billy” Pimentel, a native of Puerto Rico, started his military career in the Navy Reserve as a hospital corpsman in 1988. A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, he completed his enlisted service in 1996. He received a bachelor’s degree in industrial microbiology and a master’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. He completed his Ph.D. in plant pathology with a concentration in mycology and population genetics from Washington State University in 1999. In July 1999, he was commissioned in the Navy as a lieutenant. His first duty station was as department head of the microbiology department at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.

From 2003-2010, he served in multiple leadership positions within the Disease Surveillance Program, International Emerging Infections Programs, Global Disease Detection and Response Program and the Virology and Zoonotic Diseases Research Program at Naval Medical Research Unit Three in Cairo, Egypt. In these roles, Pimentel managed more than 25 scientific research projects aimed at implementing and strengthening laboratory-based disease surveillance capacity in the Middle East, Central Asia, former Soviet Union countries, North Africa and West Africa. In collaboration with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he led multiple research and surveillance studies aimed at understanding the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis, acute febrile illness of unknown origins, severe respiratory infections and influenza (e.g., avian influenza H5N1 and pandemic H1N1) surveillance. As part of his duties, Pimentel has traveled extensively developing joint research projects key for force health protection, global health security agenda and trained hundreds of clinicians, researchers and technicians in laboratory diagnostic procedures, biosafety and good clinical laboratory practices. He provided laboratory support during several H5N1 outbreaks in West Africa and Central Asia. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, he coordinated and led the Naval Medical Research Unit #3 outbreak response support to deployed forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and to health ministries in 20 countries.

In 2010, he reported to the Biological Defense Research Directorate at the Naval Medical Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland. As program manager for the International Field Microbiology group, he worked in Pakistan providing laboratory support to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. In 2011, he was selected to serve as the deputy director of the Biological Defense Research Directorate, overseeing multiple biodefense research projects and the production of critical detection assays widely used by the Defense Department and other U.S. government agencies. In addition, he led the only four Navy medicine rapid deployable mobile laboratories responsible for the detection of biowarfare agents and infectious diseases. In support of Operation United Assistance, he successfully led the deployment of two mobile labs for detection of the Ebola virus during the epidemic in Liberia. His mobile labs were instrumental in reducing lab results turn-around-time to just hours. President Barack Obama recognized his contribution as part of the U.S. government’s Ebola response in West Africa.

In August 2015, Pimentel reported to Naval Medical Research Unit Six in Lima, Peru as executive officer and in March 2017 he became the unit’s commanding officer. His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (3rd award), Navy and Marine Commendation Medal (3rd award) and the Navy and Marine Achievement Medal.

Veronica Vergara is an information systems security engineer in the Cybersecurity Branch at Naval Air Systems Command supporting aircraft launch and recovery systems and support equipment in Lakehurst, New Jersey. She serves as a lead information systems security engineer for the Aviation Data Management and Control System program, where she ensures cyber requirements are designed, tested and optimized within the systems engineering construct.

From August 2014 until December 2016, she served as the research development test and evaluation cybersecurity lead overseeing 21 Naval Air Warfare Center-Aircraft Division RDT&E laboratories that support aircraft launch and recovery and support equipment systems from various program management offices. During this time, she developed a strategy to consolidate accreditations for an overall cost savings to the lab owners by reducing efforts from 22 to 4 accreditation packages.

From September 2011 until July 2014, she served as the lead information systems security engineer/ officer for RDT&E laboratories, the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Program Office and Common Aviation Support Equipment Program Office program of record systems, providing cybersecurity engineering support to assist the engineers and contractors in developing and implementing security controls to lower risks to an acceptable level. During that time, she performed a cyber security inspection dry run on all of the Support Equipment and Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Department’s RDT&E Lakehurst Labs. Her leadership skills directly led to significant improvement in the security posture of the labs by ensuring they all had accreditation packages, by reducing vulnerabilities in the systems and by making users aware of proper behavior on Navy systems. As a result of her efforts, she received a letter of appreciation from Kathleen Donnelly, director of the Navy Air Systems Command’s Support Equipment and Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Department, for leading a successful departmentwide cyber security inspection dry run.

From August 2008 until August 2011, she served as a project lead for certification and accreditation activities to determine how well systems or components met security requirements under the DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process for sixteen information technology systems for customers across the Army. She provided information assurance guidance to program managers to identify, assess and manage risk associated with security posture and networthiness of Army systems. She also served as a key member of a Lean Six Sigma team, tasked to improve the operational effectiveness of the certification and accreditation process.

She graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in systems security engineering in May 2016. She joined the Hispanic Engagement Action Team in January 2016 and was recently appointed to lead the science, technology, engineering and math outreach sub team to reach out to Hispanic communities in local schools to increase their awareness in STEM.

Brig. Gen. Pablo Estrada Jr. was promoted to brigadier general and assumed the duties of land component commander for the Michigan Army National Guard on March 1, 2016. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, in May 1988 and holds a Master of Science degree in management from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan.

His military schools include the Field Artillery Basic and Advance Course, CAS3 Command and General Staff College, Military Police Transition Course, Field Artillery Pre Command Course, Joint Command Training Course and the U.S. Army War College Fellowship Program at Tufts University.

He served with 3rd Infantry Division in Germany as a company fire support officer, platoon fire direction officer, platoon leader and battalion fire support officer. His next assignment was with the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. While there, he served as a division assistant fires coordinator, battalion operations and training officer, battalion fire support officer and battery commander.

Estrada joined the Michigan Army National Guard in 1999. He has served as battalion assistant operations and training officer, battalion operations and training officer, battalion executive officer and commander of the 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery. He then served as the executive officer and brigade commander of the 63rd Troop Command from June 2006 to December 2011. He then served as the officer in charge/brigade command mentor to the armed forces of Liberia, Africa, from January 2012 to March 2014. His next assignment was as the deputy chief of staff operations/officer in charge of the 46th Military Police Command while the unit was on the federal command and control chemical response element mission from April 2013 to September 2014. He then served as chief of staff until assuming his current duties.

Estrada is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his family are active with St. Anastasia Catholic Church, and he has previously volunteered for a local community foundation.

Master Sergeant Miguel Sanchez was born in southern Texas, and by the time he was 5 years old, his family had moved to Lansing, Michigan. He spent summers doing migrant work until his graduation from high school in 1980.

Sanchez’s first enlistment was into the Marine Corps Reserve in 1985. Upon finishing this first enlistment, he left the military for a short time before enlisting into the Michigan Army National Guard in 1990. He has deployed three times since 2004: to the Balkans, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan since 2004. During his deployments, he served as an administrative noncommissioned officer and company equal opportunity leader. He was awarded the Combat Action Badge for his service while deployed to Afghanistan.

Sanchez attended Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute’s Equal Opportunity Advisor’s Course and served as an equal opportunity advisor for 177th Military Police Brigade for more than three years. Thirty-two years after his initial enlistment, Sanchez is now Michigan's Joint Force Headquarters victim advocate coordinator as a dual-status federal technician.

Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Eric Ramirez serves as the Army National Guard's federal technician material handler supervisor, as well as an Officer Candidate School instructor/writer. He was born in Weslaco, Texas, in December 1984 and enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in 2001.

Ramirez served as a vehicle driver for Bravo Company Forward, 434th Main Support Battalion, Austin, Minnesota, from June 2004 to January 2005. He then served as a vehicle driver for Bravo Company, 50tth Main Support Battalion, Forward Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, from January 2005 to November 2005. In February 2009, Ramirez mobilized again, this time to Afghanistan, as a heavy vehicle driver with the 114th Transportation Company, Duluth, Minnesota. He mobilized for the third time to Kuwait as a squad leader for Gulf Company, 134th Brigade Support Battalion Headquarters, 1st Brigade Combat Team, Saint Peter, Minnesota, from September 2010 to November 2012.

Ramirez has served as the Hispanic Employment Program Special Emphasis Program manager since August 2016, engaging Hispanic employees and organizing heritage events during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Ramirez has earned numerous decorations, awards and citations in his 15-year military career. These include: the Army Commendation Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster; the Army Achievement Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster; the Army Good Conduct Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars; the Iraq campaign medal with a campaign star; the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hourglass device and mobilization device; the NCO Professional Development Ribbon with number 3 device; the Army Service Ribbon; the Overseas Service Ribbon with number 3 device; the NATO Medal; the Minnesota Good Conduct Ribbon with bronze oak leaf cluster; the Minnesota Service Ribbon with V Device; the South Dakota Distinguished Service Award; the Meritorious Unit Commendation; the Combat Action Badge; the Driver and Mechanic Badge with driver-wheeled vehicle clasp.

Staff Sgt. Kevin Westwood of the South Carolina Army National Guard was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, until the age of 13. His parents divorced when he was 2 years old, leaving his mother to raise him and his sister as a single parent. As a boy in Colombia, Westwood witnessed many acts of violence, prompting his mother to work toward creating a better life for their family.

His mother remarried when he was 11. His stepfather adopted him and his sister, and when Westwood was 13, the family moved to Greenville, South Carolina.

The shift from Colombia to South Carolina brought a new challenge and opportunities of experiencing a new country, language and culture. Everything was new, but the family was determined to make the most of things and be great American citizens.

With the challenge of not knowing English, Westwood spent a year attending English as a Second Language classes and joined the Boy Scouts of America, learning the value of working in the community. His scouting experiences taught him how and why things work in the United States, including the lesson that people who care make a difference in the world. Throughout high school, he volunteered in several children’s programs, mentoring underprivileged at-risk youth, primarily within the Hispanic community.

After high school, Westwood joined the Army National Guard as an infantryman to aid in tuition costs while attending Clemson University, majoring in mechanical engineering. Military orders to deploy to Kosovo interrupted his formal education, but he describes the Kosovo deployment as a life-changing experience that taught him many things and benefited his maturity. After the deployment, he returned to school, taking military advanced individual training to obtain another military occupational specialty as an air missile defense specialist. Subsequently, he mobilized to Washington, defending the national capital region.

In 2016, when Hurricane Matthew struck South Carolina's coastal areas, Westwood was assisted in rescuing flood victims and clearing road debris, and he was labeled as a hero in the state newspaper for his. He rescued an elderly woman from her flooded home, carrying her on his back to a safe, dry area when her fear of drowning prevented her from being able to move safely on her own.

Westwood continues to serve the South Carolina Army National Guard as an air missile defense specialist and attends Limestone College, where he is majoring in business and computer science.

Master Public Safety Officer Luis A. Feliciano was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Rochester, New York. After graduating from high school in 1988, he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Upon receiving an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, he attended SUNY State College in New York before enlisting in the Army and then the South Carolina Army National Guard. He has served one tour of duty in South Korea and is a combat veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Operation New Dawn in Afghanistan.

Feliciano is now assigned as a South Carolina Army National Guard staff sergeant to the 678th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and holds military occupational specialties as a signal support systems specialist and as an attack helicopter repairer. In addition to his assigned military duties, Feliciano is a certified combat lifesaver and equal opportunity leader.

As a community servant, Feliciano serves the city of Cayce, South Carolina. He has earned nominations for the Whole Sole Award, The Fire Fighters Service Award and the National Police Chiefs Association’s Life Saving Award. Additionally, Feliciano has been recognized by then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for his heroic and courageous actions as a master public safety officer, and the South Carolina Army National Guard has awarded him the South Carolina Palmetto Cross.

As a part of the Community Outreach Policing Unit in Casey, Feliciano works to bridge the gap between the local police force and minority communities through such programs as officer sensitivity training, neighborhood outreach and enhancement teams, and community events such as the Kids Explorer Program, which aids at-risk youth from the age of 14 in pursuing careers in firefighting and law enforcement. Feliciano has been featured in a locally broadcast Crime Stoppers public service announcement designed to improve police relations with the Hispanic community and promote "community policing."

Feliciano lives in Lexington, South Carolina, with his wife, Carmen, while serving his country and community by reaching out to church leaders to prevent hunger and substance abuse, promoting healthy relations between the community and the local police force, and mentoring soldiers.