During a recent deployment to Kuwait with the Illinois Air National Guard 183rd Wing, Jeremy Cagle often found his mind wandering back to the Springfield Fire Department, where he’s a seven-year veteran.
“You miss it and you want to be part of it,” Cagle said, during a recent interview following his return to Springfield on July 28.
“We have a strong Air Force family and a strong firefighter family,” added Rick Rojas, a Springfield firefighter who also recently returned from a six-month deployment, to Qatar. “I couldn’t have it any other way.”
For both Cagle, 33, and Rojas, 35, it was their third mission overseas with the Air Guard. That qualifies them in some eyes as veterans, but both say it doesn’t necessarily get any easier or any more difficult dealing with the deployments.