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Airman embarks on another new beginning

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Ross M. Tweten
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Seated in a valley at the head of the Andes Mountain Range is the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. It's known as "the city of eternal spring," due to its mild year-round climate.

Spring is widely recognized as a time of rebirth, and starting over. But, spring can be defined a few ways, i.e. to come into being, rise, or arise within a short time, or to simply begin.

For a place that maintains these characteristics, it's no wonder it's the birthplace of someone who has been on a constant course of rising and new beginnings.

Since the age of three, Airman 1st Class Dennis Villegas' life has reflected the pseudonym of his birthplace.

From the head of the Andes in Cochabamba to the heart of the Andes in Chile and from the shores of Brazil to the shores of New Jersey, Airman Villegas seems to have been eternally springing. Now, he finds himself on the other side of the world in Southwest Asia, directly supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and continuing his eternal spring.

"Everything has been a great experience," said Airman Villegas, a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning technician with the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, and stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. "I've met a lot of people and been to a lot of places. I've enjoyed my time in all the countries I've been in and I really enjoy my time here with the HVAC shop."

At the age of three, Airman Villegas moved from Cochabamba to Santiago, Chile. He lived there for seven years and according to him, the two things that stand out the most from his time there were soccer and the food.

"I played a lot of soccer when I was younger," he said. "Soccer is one of the reasons I moved around so much when I was young. I miss the soccer and I really miss the empanadas. A lot of places have empanadas but Chile has the best."

According to Airman Villegas, he considers himself Chilean because he's lived there for most of his life, but his love for the U.S. and Chile is the same.

"I loved living in South America and the U.S.," he said. Though he plans to stay in the U.S., Airman Villegas said he will always root for Chile in soccer matches.

At the age of 10, Airman Villegas moved to Brazil. He lived just outside of Rio de Janeiro for four years where, again, his main focus was soccer.

Airman Villegas encountered some obstacles during his first new beginning in Brazil.

"I did not speak Portuguese when I moved to Brazil," he said. "Portuguese is similar to Spanish, my first language, so that helped, but it was difficult at first. But I soon picked it up and was able to get by.

"I was also playing soccer with an older age group, so that was difficult. But that was because I wanted to. I moved to Brazil because of soccer, and that's mostly what I did, along with going to school. I did a lot of traveling for soccer while I was there. We went to Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, and Spain."

At the age of 14, Airman Villegas found himself again starting over.

After four years in Brazil, Airman Villegas' mother met her future husband who was in the Army and lived in California. That is how Airman Villegas came to the United States.

"When we came to the U.S., I didn't speak any English," he said. "That was really difficult. I basically had to learn it by myself. At first it was hard but then I was like, 'you know what,' I've got to learn it. I didn't have a choice. Not knowing the language also makes it difficult to make friends. But, I learned a lot in the summer before my sophomore year, and making friends became easier. By the end of my sophomore year I was comfortable with the language."

Then, in February of 2007 at the age of 19, Airman Villegas, after living in three countries in six years and having to pick up two new languages found himself again starting over as he entered the Air Force.

"I first started thinking about the military because my step dad had been in the military," he said. "He was actually in the Army but he steered me into the Air Force.

"I didn't know anything about HVAC coming in. But now I love it. I have a lot of fun. I enjoy going around base and fixing things, and I'm learning a lot about the job."

According to Airman Villegas, he was ready for the Air Force and the challenge of a new environment.

"I wasn't really worried about entering a new environment because I'm so used to it," he said. "I was comfortable with the thought of transitioning to the Air Force."

As soon as Airman Villegas arrived at his first duty station in New Jersey, he was informed that he'd be joining the 380 AEW in Southwest Asia.

"I was really excited when I found out I was coming here," he said. "I heard a lot of great things and I was really looking forward to it. I thought I'd never go anywhere besides McGuire because I have a 2-year contract. So this was a big surprise."

Currently, Airman Villegas is working on gaining his U.S. citizenship and is grateful for all the benefits the Air Force has to offer.

"I'm glad I'm in the Air Force," he said. "I've gained a lot of respect from my family and friends."

Another perk Airman Villegas received from the Air Force is being able to participate in his old love of soccer in a competitive atmosphere with his host nation counterparts.

"I play a lot of soccer here," he said. "It's fun to play with the locals. They play really well, and I haven't played as much lately, so they're helping me shake the rust off."

Airman Villegas has done a lot of starting over in the course of his young life. Now with OEF and OIF, he's helping other countries and people as they rebuild and start over.