175th Wing Public Affairs
10/31/2014 - BALTIMORE -- One Airman, a full-time firefighter here at Warfield Air National Guard Base, recently put the fear of leaving her unit and home in Puerto Rico behind her to pursue the challenge of a career in Maryland.
Senior Airman Sheila M. Fuentes left Puerto Rico and joined the Maryland Air National Guard last year and then in March she landed a full-time firefighter position with the base firefighting department.
"I took my chances and I came over here," she said.
Fuentes served with 12 members of the 175th Wing while serving with the Puerto Rico Air National Guard on a deployed to Bahrain in 2012. During that six month deployment, she worked well with them.
"I got to see how good they were as a fire department," she said.
From the start of her Air Force career in 2010, Fuentes wanted a challenge.
"I told the recruiter I wanted a physically active job," Fuentes said. "Being a fire fighter is a hard job, which sometimes you have to grow into it. After graduating firefighting school, I fell in love with the job."
"It is not all about fighting fire, it's more than about that," she said. "We have the medical side. It is about helping the community. It's about making sure people are going to be safe by preventing situations."
Fuentes initially did have concerns about going to a new unit in a typically male-dominated career field.
"It is scary coming to new unit," she said. "It was a big change coming from an island to the main land. There is a different culture here. I knew I would be the only female fire fighter here. It was very scary."
"It took me a couple of drill weekends [to adjust]," she said. "The fire fighters made it really easy for me. If I had any concerns, I was more than welcome to talk to management. They knew my concerns about being the only female. They had a zero tolerance [for harassment]. The six months I served with 12 of them in Bahrain made it easier because I knew them."
Fuentes near term plan is to finish her Community College of the Air Force degree. She sees herself staying in the Air National Guard for 20-plus years and earning a leadership position.
"You always have to go for something better," Fuentes said.
Most of the calls Fuentes has been on have been vehicle related accidents outside the base and medical calls. She is enthusiastic about knowing how to deal with a potential airplane incident.
"I like dealing with planes," she said. "I make sure I know about the planes. That's what this department is here for; it's about taking care of the planes on the ramp."
Although there is nothing she doesn't like about the job, she states it is a sacrifice being here for 24-hour shifts when most people go home after 5 p.m.
Fuentes also discussed teamwork and building bonds while on the job.
"In my shift we all are like a family," she said. "We like having a good time and we take care of each other."
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