A Rock Solid Warrior: Staff Sgt. Nicole Cabrera

SOUTHWEST ASIA—This week’s Rock Solid Warrior is Staff Sgt. Nicole Cabrera. Cabrera is a client support administrator with the 387th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. The Tinian, Northern Marianas Islands native is deployed from the 72 Security Forces Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
Q: What is your family’s military heritage (anyone else in your family who was/is in the military)?
A: I am a Chamorro native from an island close to Guam, called Tinian. I am the first to have joined the military from my family.
Q: What is your mission here (in general terms)?
A: My first month here, I was working as a Base Defense Operations Center Controller. I was then selected to fill the Commanders Support Staff/Client Support Administrator position. I am currently in-process personnel as they arrive, as well as manage the decorations program, account for all ADPE equipment, as well as manage a few other programs, such as the Unit Fitness Program.
Q: What are some of the best parts of your mission?
A: The people I am surrounded with, not only in my unit but in the 387th Air Expeditionary Group as well. Our leadership team is amazing and I could not have asked for a better team of professionals to work with while I’m deployed.
Q: What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them?
A: The biggest challenge I have is being away from my five-year-old daughter, Taliana. I think with most people, just the separation from the ones we love is the hardest part of deploying. I’ve received the training and necessary equipment to be able to accomplish my mission here.
Q: How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base?
A: As a Security Forces member, our priorities don’t change. It is to guard personnel and resources. It is really the same job both here and at home station for me. Our responsibilities as defenders remain the same. Although I currently am an administrative person within my unit, my main job is to deter and defend this base against threats.
Q: How many times have you deployed?
A: This is my second deployment. I deployed to the same unit back in 2012.
Q: What makes this deployment unique?
A: Our mission in the 387th AEG is unique as we are the second largest Aerial Port of Debarkation for the Air Mobility Command. I’ve had the honor and privilege to witness dignified transfers of fallen service members as they make their final trip home, as well as see troops enter and exit the AOR to sustain regional security in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. I am reminded daily of why my unit is providing security here, especially when we’re reminded so often of the instability in the region.
Q: Why did you join the Air Force?
A: Like a lot of high school graduates, I wanted to be able to explore the world, get paid to do so, as well as be able to continue to pursue higher education. I wanted to do something I was proud of and be able to serve my country and joining the Air Force has definitely fulfilled all these desires. One of the greatest compliments is when strangers thank me for my service to our great nation.
The best “thank you” I received was when I traveled back home for the first time since joining the Air Force. A man named Henry who was at the “Court of Honors” (a memorial on Saipan where the names of over 5,000 U.S. Armed Forces men and women who died during World War II on the Northern Marianas Islands were inscribed) pointed to a name, which was his father’s. He explained how his father was killed during World War II on the island of Saipan when he was just a year old and he promised himself, he would one day visit the island his father died on, as he never got to know him. There he was, over 60 years later, finally fulfilling his promise to himself. I can’t begin to explain how honored I was to have met him, and to have him thank me for my service.

The Rock Solid Warrior is a weekly spotlight focused on an outstanding member of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. These unsung heroes have been nominated by their unit leadership to be recognized for their efforts while deployed. By PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs