From White To Blue: Serving Those Who Serve America

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing
MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. --  It was already a long week for Enrique Rivera. Fourteen-hour workdays take a toll on anyone, especially when they have the power of life and death in their hands. This Friday was supposed to be easy for the quick-to-laugh man. He was looking forward to taking off his white lab coat when his thoughts were interrupted - a man had just suffered a major heart attack. This was the mission Rivera trained for, and what he lives for. As an interventional cardiologist, the 44-year old has a great responsibility in this situation -do whatever necessary to bring the heart - and the person, back to life. After using cutting-edge technology to open the man's blocked valve and arteries and save the man's life, Enrique went home and went straight to bed after the 17-hour day. Five hours later he woke up, put on his combat boots and set out on a different mission - serving those who serve his country.
 
"You can do many things with your life. All of them make a difference, but I wanted to really help people," Lt. Col. Rivera said. Saving lives during the week may be enough for some, but not for Colonel Rivera. He knew at a young age that helping people would be his life's mission, but it would be a winding path that would find him as a doctor and colonel in the Air Force Reserves. Today, he works as a flight surgeon for the 927th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and is their surgeon general hospital, the equivalent of the chief of staff in a civilian hospital.

"My dad was a Marine in Korea, and he transferred over to the Air Force Reserves," he said. It wasn't until his father moved to Puerto Rico that Rivera's story would begin, though.

Colonel Rivera's father worked as a pilot for American Airlines out of the city of San Juan. The territory's capital made it of prime interest to the military, and the local Marine Corps and Navy base was a frequent vacation spot for the Rivera family. Colonel Rivera fondly remembers he and his father always being around airplanes.

"I remember watching them fly missions over the islands, dropping flares at night," Colonel Rivera said. "Even then, it was beautiful to see what they did."

When Rivera went to college in Puerto Rico, he had a choice to make: study engineering or medicine. With an open-mindedness he is known for, Colonel Rivera said making a beautiful building helps people too, but he decided he wanted to serve both people and his country.

"In Puerto Rico, I joined a National Guard base with F-16s, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1992," Colonel Rivera said. Although part of the medical service corps because he was not yet a doctor, Rivera knew the path he wanted his life to go in. After medical school Colonel Rivera went to teach at the University of Florida in Gainesville for 3 years. When an opportunity opened itself in Bradenton, Fla., Colonel Rivera took the chance and set up as a private practitioner there. Although the opportunity exists to make money and choose which patients he will see (whereas emergency room doctors are legally bound to treat patients), Colonel Rivera sticks to his morals and treats patients even when it costs him time and money.

"I got a call to come in at 3a.m. because a man was having heart trouble," Colonel Rivera said. "He didn't have insurance, and if the person or the insurance can't pay, it's a freebie."

Although interventional cardiologists are some of the best paid members of the medical industry, Colonel Rivera said he doesn't mind giving up a weekend once a month and a few weeks a year to help fellow servicemembers.

"(Reserve doctors) don't depend on the pay. We're always busy and likely on call one weekend a month (in their civilian jobs). Why be here when you could be resting?" Colonel Rivera said. He quickly answered his own question: "What causes doctors to stay in the reserves is the commitment and understanding that what you are doing has a larger significance in our society."

It is this commitment and willingness to give back that draws professionals like Rivera into the Air Force Reserves. One such candidate is Ajoy Kumar, who practices family medicine and is thinking of joining the ranks of Air Force Reserve doctors like Colonel Rivera.

"I want to help give assistance to the military and their families," Kumar said. "They don't have as robust a support system as many families do."

Like Colonel Rivera, Kumar has family in the Air Force, and wants to continue the legacy and give something back to the country that gave his family so much.

"My family is from Bangalore, India, and I'm a first-generation American," Kumar said. "This country has done a lot for me and my folks, and I want to give something back. I'm looking forward to helping to take care of those who take care of and protect us."

Being a doctor in the reserves is no easy life either, Colonel Rivera cautions.

"By regulation, we can't treat people here," ColonelRivera says. "If I prescribe heart medication, there's no follow-up appointment we can make to monitor folks."

Not only are reserve doctors prevented from follow-up appointments due to the nature of the reserve program, but they must also work with less support than they do in their civilian professions.

"In my (civilian) office, I have a secretary to take care of a lot of the paperwork." Colonel Rivera said. "Here, I am the secretary!"

In addition to Rivera's primary duties as a flight surgeon, he is also tasked with screening potential candidates for the 927th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and reviewing servicemembers' records to ensure they are fit to fight. Despite these extra duties, the unit still utilizes his specialized knowledge on a frequent basis.

"Because (Rivera) specializes as a cardiologist, we are really able to utilize him for reservists who have cardiac issues," said Tech. Sgt. Nikki Coombs. Sergeant Coombs is a medical technician with the 927th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and works alongside Rivera ensuring servicemembers are healthy. The Knoxville, Iowa native added, "If we didn't have him, we may have to pay for physicians off base. It's great to have him on board."

It doesn't take someone in the medical field to appreciate what doctors like Colonel Rivera do for troops - the troops are more than willing to say how thankful they are to have the doctor with them.

"It's great that we can get quality guys who want to come in and help us," said Tech. Sgt. Trevor Halpain, a boom operator with the 63rd Air Refueling Squadron and one of Colonel Rivera's patients at the wing. "It's good to see they want to give something back."

When Colonel Rivera takes off his combat boots, returns to his cilian job and puts on his white lab coat, he will know that he has fulfilled his dream - he makes a difference in the lives he touches with his career and his military service.