It’s a Tuesday morning that so many of us remember vividly. For a middle-school-aged Chris, it would be a formative moment in his life, “I remember waking up on September 11, 2001 to my step-mom crying. We watched what was happening and after that I had this desire to serve our country however I could. That desire has never gone away.”
Less than a decade following the attacks on 9/11, Chris set out on his mission to serve our country. He graduated from high school, married the love of his life, Kelly, and enlisted in the United States Air Force. Chris served as a Meteorologist at Barksdale Air Force Base, Fort Bliss Army Base, and was deployed to Afghanistan. “When I was tasked with deployment, it was a dream come true. My job, like many others, was support…. When you’re an E4 telling Lieutenant Colonels and higher how the weather is going to impact their decision on missions, and you see them make changes based on your forecast, it’s eye opening on how everyone plays their role.”
After serving six years on active duty, Chris returned home to his Texas hometown so he and Kelly could start their family. Still driven to serve — but this time at a local level — Chris became an EMT. With the birth of his two children, Chris soon set his sights on becoming a paramedic.
“Training to be a paramedic requires school and clinicals where you have to ride with working medics to get field experience. There were times I would sit in front of the house for 20 minutes before I had to leave for clinical and I wouldn’t go inside. I knew the kids would be so excited to finally see me but then be so upset when I had to turn around and leave. That was honestly the worst time of my life.”
Chris
For Chris, however, it was making sure that his kids knew just how important it was for him to give back to the community — and country — that had given him everything he loved dearly. And that it’s not just about ensuring his family is safe from harm — that his service would instill values in them for life. Chris feels that the core values he learned while serving in the Air Force, like the second core value of “service before self,” instills that you know when to make personal sacrifices for the greater good.
Through it all, Chris has never lost sight of what is truly valuable. His family, his country, and the principles that made him who he is today. He is still that middle-schooler who remembers that Tuesday morning twenty years ago. But now, he is a paramedic, a father, a husband…he’s locked in for family and freedom.
Chris is a proud owner of a Staccato P.