Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Devotion to military runs deep for Puerto Rican family By Tech. Sgt. Nancy Goldberger
                116th Air Control Wing
 ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. – It’s often said the Air National Guard is like a family. That’s literally the case for the Lopez family, with mother, son and daughter serving together in the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Wing. A few years after Ernesto Lopez Jr. and his wife, Joanna, had their oldest son and daughter, they moved from Puerto Rico to the continental United States. They both wanted to join the military some years earlier. Ernesto enlisted, and they decided Joanna would stay home and raise their children. Encouraged by his father, now a sergeant major in the U.S. Army, Ernesto Lopez-Falcon was the first of the Lopez-Falcon children to join the military in 2016. He is Senior Airman and a services specialist in the 116th Force Support Squadron. When the recruiter called looking for her son, Joanna Lopez took the message and on a whim asked what the age limit was for joining the Air Guard. She was a few weeks shy of the 40-year age limit cutoff. Within a matter of weeks, the mother of three rekindled her dream and enlisted and joined the 116th Air Control Wing with her son. “I was shocked at first,” said her son. “I was there the day she swore in, too. I thought, ‘This is something else.’ ” At basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, she was the oldest Airman in her flight. “When I went to basic and first put my uniform on, I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘This is me.’ ” said Lopez, now Airman 1st Class operations management specialist with the 116th Civil Engineer Squadron. Inspired by her mother’s bold move, Jennifer Lopez-Falcon followed her mother and brother, joining the Georgia Air Guard in August 2018 after a semester of college. “My mom had just gotten out of basic training, and I needed something exciting,” she said. “I went in the Guard because I still wanted to continue school.” She is now Airman Basic Lopez-Falcon, a material management specialist in the 116th Logistics Readiness Squadron. “Since the first day I got here, everyone has been so welcoming,” she said. “It’s good to come to work and feel I’m still at home, that this is still family.” With four of the five immediate family members enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces, serving is in the DNA of this military family. They are proud of both their Hispanic heritage and their devotion to duty, said Joanna Lopez.
 SHARE
 PRINT
  116th Air Control Wing
 Georgia Air National Guard
 Puerto Rico
 
 Georgia Air National Guard Receives its 1st C-130J-30 Aircraft
 By Master Sgt. Caila Arahood,
  NY Guard Helps Prepare Georgia Guard for Aircraft Conversion
 By Staff Sgt. Daniel Farrell,
  Maryland Intelligence Analyst Helps Team Win Skills Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers,
  More
 Tennessee Guard Rescues Hiker in Great Smoky Mountains Park Guard News • yesterday
 Champions Repeat at NH National Guard Marksmanship Match Guard News • 2 days ago
 West Virginia Air National Guard Wing Conducts ’Super Drill’ Guard News • 2 days ago
 Idaho Medical Airmen Train in Field to Boost Readiness Guard News • 2 days ago
 Alaska Air National Guard rescues 6 plane crash victims Guard News • 2 days ago
 2024 (189)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil