Gallup man back after 2 tours in Iraq

Visiting Gallup while on leave from the Army, Jonas Herrera spends his last day before returning to Georgia helping to set up a swamp cooler and connect the water line at his grandmother's home in Gallup. [photo by Jeff Jones / Independent]

Sgt. Jonas Herrera

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — Sgt. Jonas Herrera returned to Gallup from Iraq about a month ago. He’s glad to be back home with his family, enjoying all the comforts of civilian life. It’s a different scene from that outside Baghdad, where he served 15 months, providing security for contractors and other civilians.

“We got there and there was just a couple of tents and some dirt,” Herrera said of his first days of his second tour.

He served 12 months in a previous tour of Iraq. Needless to say his family is happy to have him back as well.

“He’s back safe and sound. We’re just really grateful,” Herrera’s grandmother, Josie, said.

Josie Herrera said that while her grandson was off fighting in Iraq, she’d watch the news of various attacks and the casualty counts. She said she would just pray he would come home soon.

“Some were not so lucky,” she said.

Some of those were Jonas Herrera’s friends, who were stationed with him in Iraq. He said he lived in small tents with 15 more other soldiers, and the tents did little to shield them from the desert heat. Even worse, they offered little protection from the mortar fire.

In one attack, he said the enemy had their location pinpointed and fired all around the tent, leaving them little room to escape. He had just started to drive off to carry out a mission, when the enemy fire hit their tent. He said 16 of his fellow soldiers were wounded and one was killed. He had been standing just moments before where the mortar fire hit.

He said that this being the second time he’s returned home, he’s found adjusting a lot easier. He said that all soldiers go through a period when they come home where they’re on edge. It’s difficult to eat or sleep for a few days, he said.

“The main threat are the roadside bombs,” he said.

The first time he came home, he said that he would sometimes swerve reflexively when he’d spot something on the side of road. This time, he said that he was able to settle down into life at home much easier. And after five years in the Army, he has no plans on re-enlisting.

He said he now plans to enter go to college on the GI Bill, which will cover most of his expenses. He’s not sure yet what he’ll study, but he said that the GI Bill will open up much opportunity for whatever he decides to do.

“It’s a pretty good stepping stone,” he said.