New Mexico Minuteman - Spring 2012 - Keep Trees

Sgt. Pernell Herrera
Sgt. Pernell Herrera
takes his final flight
By Joseph Vigil
Public Affairs Specialist, New Mexico National Guard
Sgt. Pernell J. Herrera, the recently
deceased New Mexico Army National
Guardsman, was honored Jan. 12, 2012,
by family, friends and fellow Guardsmen
in his hometown of Espanola, then laid to
rest at Santa Fe National Cemetery.
Herrera, 33, a signal support systems
specialist with C Company, 1st Battalion,
171st Aviation Regiment, out of Santa Fe,
was pronounced dead on Dec. 31, 2011,
after he suffered cardiac arrest after performing
physical fi tness training in Helmand
Province, Afghanistan.
His family and fellow Guardsmen gathered
to welcome home his remains which
were fl own to the Santa Fe Airport earlier
on Jan. 10. Following a short memorial
service on the tarmac, Herrera then took
his fi nal fl ight on a Black Hawk helicopter
to his hometown of Espanola.
Surrounded by his family, friends and
fellow Guardsmen, Command Sgt. Maj.
James C. Martinez relinquished responsibility
of the 93rd Brigade to incoming
Command Sgt. Maj. James M. Rivera Dec.
3, 2011. The ceremony also coincided
with Martinez’ retirement from the National
Guard after 24 years of service.
Accolades honoring Martinez’ service
made special mention of his instrumental
efforts to create the 126th Military Police
Company, the fi rst MP company in the
state. He served as the company fi rst sergeant
during the unit’s deployment in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Herrera deployed to Afghanistan with
C company and performed a vital role
in medevac operations as a “battlefi eld
9-1-1 dispatcher.” He was responsible for
launching hundreds of missions to help
bring in wounded Marines and Soldiers
from the battlefi eld.
“Sgt. Herrera was truly an American
hero for what he did,” said Maj. Gen.
Kenny C. Montoya, the Adjutant General.
“Southern Afghanistan is a varied place
that has Marines in four different forward
operating bases. His communication kept
helicopters in the air, kept Marines alive.”
His fellow Soldiers said that everybody
loved him, his positive attitude and that it
was a pleasure to have served with him.
“He usually had a smile on his face and
was quick to offer kind words to everyone.
He was a friend to every soldier in Charlie
Martinez hands over responsibility
of 93rd to Rivera, then retires
By Spc. Charles Martinez
200th Public Affairs Detachment
He also served as command sergeant
major of the 615th Transportation Battalion
and as operations sergeant major of the
515th Regiment in Santa Fe. During this
time, he assisted in the accreditation of
the Warrior Leadership Course, the Offi cer
Candidate School, and the 88M course.
His fi nal assignment as command sergeant
major and senior enlisted advisor
of the 93rd Brigade placed the welfare of
more than 1,625 Soldiers under his care.
On top of this, he oversaw the brigade
during several state missions, including
fi res in Raton, Los Alamos, and the
Wallow fi re; as well as Operation “Deep
Freeze” during the natural gas outage in
the Española and Taos areas.
Martinez was presented with the New
Mexico Distinguished Service Medal and
received letters of commendation and
appreciation from Maj. Gen. Kenny C. Montoya,
the Adjutant General, Gov. Susana
Martinez, and the National Guard Bureau.
Company,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Duran,
a lifelong friend and fellow Soldier.
Herrera enlisted in the New Mexico
National Guard on May 18, 2006, and
served honorably over the last fi ve and
a half years. According to his family, he
joined the New Mexico National Guard
because he wanted to better himself and
ensure opportunities for his children.
“We knew why he wanted to be there—
he did it for his family, for his country, for
his kids,“ said Denise Velarde, Herrera’s
cousin. “He loved his kids very much. His
whole world revolved around them, and he
would do anything for them.”
Herrera is survived by his mother Doris
Quintana, his brother Arthur Herrera, son
Julian, 13, and daughter Alicia, 9.
Additional tokens of appreciation were
presented to Martinez at a dinner for him
at Quarters in Albuquerque. He accepted
them with dignity and thanked all who
helped him along during his career.
Incoming Command Sgt. Maj. James
M. Rivera wants to “continue to train as
‘Warfi ghters’ and be prepared for any mission
we are called to perform.” He praised
all Soldiers who supported missions last
year and wants to maintain that readiness.
This includes APFT, Soldier tasks, Soldier
care and maintaining focus on resiliency
training. “I want all NCOs to make sure
this is one of our training priorities as we
continue to move forward. This is one area
I will not take lightly and expect NCOs to
pay attention to and continue to utilize the
buddy system.”
Once again, the Soldiers of the 93rd Brigade
will continue to have the professional
experience and leadership of the best NCOs
in the New Mexico National Guard.
Spring 2012 / NEW MEXICO National Guard 13