Photo By Senior Airman Derrick Bole | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Juan Ramirez-Ceballos, 91st Air Refueling Squadron boom...... read more read more
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MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE – U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Juan “RC” Ramirez-Ceballos is an in-flight refueler with the 91st Air Refueling Squadron here. After retraining from the services career field, he has found his calling on the KC-135 Stratotanker.
“I was born in Armenia, Colombia, and I was brought to America when I was seven years old,” said RC. “I initially enlisted when I was 18 without a specific Air Force job and spent my first four years in the services field. I joined the Air Force to give back to the country that has given me everything.”
RC enlisted in 2016, where he received his first assignment to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. He has one take-away after learning to do every job in the services field.
“We are all a part of something greater,” said RC. “My favorite part about my job there was how important it was. Everything we did, day in and day out, it mattered. The training exercises, the jobs we do, it affects not only ourselves, it affects the whole world.”
While working in the mortuary affairs office in Charleston, RC was a part of the search and recovery emergency response team. When a C-130 crashed in Georgia in 2018, he felt a renewed inspiration in the Air Force mission.
“I got a knock on my door one typical evening,” said RC. “My first sergeant was standing there and he said ‘Pack your bags, a C-130 just went down.’ Being a part of the search and recovery team, my job was to go down and recover the remains of not only the aircraft but the crew as well. I wanted to continue my service in the United States Air Force to honor those that have served and died before us. Retraining as a boom operator has allowed me to see the impact of what they do every day.”
RC loves that he can see the impact of his work as he’s doing it.
“Nothing compares to seeing a jet flying hundreds of miles per hour trailing about 30-40 feet behind you, counting on you to help them complete their mission. It’s exhilarating.”
RC has also been a First Term Airman Course instructor, where he mentored new Airmen coming into MacDill on the customs and courtesies, benefits, and ideas that they will need throughout their Air Force career.
“He is one of the best noncommissioned officers I've ever seen,” said Senior Master Sgt. Juan Aguirre-Alger, Airmen development advisor for the 6th Force Support Squadron. “He has a superb dedication to the mission and embodied what an NCO should be. He spent each day making FTAC a better place.”
As someone who has served in multiple roles and careers, SSgt Ramirez-Ceballos believes in helping people and has seen the impact Airmen have on the world. He smiles when he puts his boots on every day, and remains excited to get out there and make a difference.
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2023 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 452078 |
| Location: | MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | ARMENIA, CO |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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