A TRUE STORY
Hugo Gamarra was an MTI in the 90s and had earned a Blue Rope as well.
He had gotten out of the service a few years back and went to work for a company that transferred him to their office in Canada. Hugo came across our MTI Chat room on Yahoo and began communicating with other MTIs past and present. He joined the MTIA and couldn't wait to attend the 2004 MTIA Convention at Lackland.
Having traveled all the way from Canada to attend the Convention, Hugo earned the 'Long Distance' award. He met the members of the MTI Chat Room he had been corresponding with and had a great time back home at Lackland - This really got Hugo to thinking.
(here's where the story gets interesting)
When Hugo got back home (Canada) he realized how much he missed being an MTI. He decided to call a few Instructors he knows to see how thinks were going at Lackland and BMT in general. After some serious contemplation, Hugo asked his company for a transfer back to the USA and with their support, he moved to South Carolina, began to exercise (lost 25 pounds) and reenlisted in the USAF (Reserve). Within weeks he was back on the streets of Lackland and after taking a proficiency test - he was given back the Blue Rope he had earned 10 years before.
18 months after returning to BMT, Hugo was nominated and won the Blue Rope of the year award for the 433 TRS.
I took this photo of SSgt Hugo Gamarra at this years (2005) MTIA Convention. To say that I am proud to know him, or that I seriously envied him would be a gross understatement and to think that the MTIA brought Hugo and the USAF MTI Corps back together - makes me very proud indeed!
Tim Johnson/Web Master
At the Convention, Hugo (kneeling left) got together with members of his original BMT Squadron, the 3711th.
Pictured LtoR: Martin Milton, George Tully, Dick Coleman, Frank Hotz, Timothy Martin, Gill Mata - Kneeling: Hugo & John Kanios.