Erick Alverio
Erick Alverio
By Jessica Gearhart, Tiffany Moreland, and Dakota Parks
Erick Alverio is currently living in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but he was born in Puerto Rico. He is a commissioned officer in the Army Reserves. Erick began serving in October of 1988 and continues to serve today. The highest rank he has achieved is Colonel, and he was active in 1991 during Desert Storm. Erick also served in a non-conflict role in the global war on terrorism. He has earned three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, and two Overseas Ribbons.
Erick told us that his favorite part of serving is working with the people and giving back to the nation. Before he went into the Army he felt like he was missing something and needed more in his life. The Army fulfilled that missing piece. His current job in the Army is to make sure that everyone knows what their job is and ensure that they can do it right. He went in when he was thirty-four; all of his family was in the Army which is why he chose the Army. While he was growing up he went to fourteen different schools. He believes the military is like a family, everyone can relate because you have all seen similar things and it is like your support group. Even years later you can see troops from the past and still feel close, just like you did when you were serving together. He is a physical therapist in the Army and decided that he did not want to just sit around during drills on the weekend, so he chose a more active role for his drill weekends by assuming more responsibility, and he continued to be involved with the Army and everything they do, because he genuinely loves what he does. Erick said that, for him, he would like to deploy to be better able to contribute to the conflict, but he also understands that he is able to contribute while stateside as either a physical therapist or in his current role, helping units preparing to deploy. He is a very outgoing person who says that his time in the military and during the war has inspired him do more important things with his life than he would have if he had not chosen to serve.
Erick’s opinion on the Osama Bin Laden killing is that with any killing, no matter how justified, there will be retaliation. The important thing is to be aware and prepared so that the retaliations are not successful. Erick talked about the fact that military life gave him structure by giving directions over and over again. There were standards and expectations that shaped troops into a tight knit group prepared for challenges around the world.
Erick has been very successful throughout his twenty-three years of service. His son is currently in ROTC at Iowa State and will be commissioned into the Army in May 2012, and his daughter’s husband is currently in the Air Force and deployed to Iraq two years ago. The military offers good benefits, such as medical coverage, increased wages with promotions, funding for college, and help with home loans. More importantly, as Erick said, service gives a person the feeling of having done something for the country, so you deserve to be an American. Without people who are willing to serve the nation in some way, our country and way of life would collapse. We want to thank Mr. Alverio for agreeing to come for this interview and for helping our nation to be safe and strong.
Erick Alverio is currently living in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but he was born in Puerto Rico. He is a commissioned officer in the Army Reserves. Erick began serving in October of 1988 and continues to serve today. The highest rank he has achieved is Colonel, and he was active in 1991 during Desert Storm. Erick also served in a non-conflict role in the global war on terrorism. He has earned three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, and two Overseas Ribbons.
Erick told us that his favorite part of serving is working with the people and giving back to the nation. Before he went into the Army he felt like he was missing something and needed more in his life. The Army fulfilled that missing piece. His current job in the Army is to make sure that everyone knows what their job is and ensure that they can do it right. He went in when he was thirty-four; all of his family was in the Army which is why he chose the Army. While he was growing up he went to fourteen different schools. He believes the military is like a family, everyone can relate because you have all seen similar things and it is like your support group. Even years later you can see troops from the past and still feel close, just like you did when you were serving together. He is a physical therapist in the Army and decided that he did not want to just sit around during drills on the weekend, so he chose a more active role for his drill weekends by assuming more responsibility, and he continued to be involved with the Army and everything they do, because he genuinely loves what he does. Erick said that, for him, he would like to deploy to be better able to contribute to the conflict, but he also understands that he is able to contribute while stateside as either a physical therapist or in his current role, helping units preparing to deploy. He is a very outgoing person who says that his time in the military and during the war has inspired him do more important things with his life than he would have if he had not chosen to serve.
Erick’s opinion on the Osama Bin Laden killing is that with any killing, no matter how justified, there will be retaliation. The important thing is to be aware and prepared so that the retaliations are not successful. Erick talked about the fact that military life gave him structure by giving directions over and over again. There were standards and expectations that shaped troops into a tight knit group prepared for challenges around the world.
Erick has been very successful throughout his twenty-three years of service. His son is currently in ROTC at Iowa State and will be commissioned into the Army in May 2012, and his daughter’s husband is currently in the Air Force and deployed to Iraq two years ago. The military offers good benefits, such as medical coverage, increased wages with promotions, funding for college, and help with home loans. More importantly, as Erick said, service gives a person the feeling of having done something for the country, so you deserve to be an American. Without people who are willing to serve the nation in some way, our country and way of life would collapse. We want to thank Mr. Alverio for agreeing to come for this interview and for helping our nation to be safe and strong.
Jessica Gearhart, Erick Alverio, Tiffany Moreland, Dakota Parks
