Serviceman returns from Afghanistan with special flag for Warwick Fire Company

WARWICK — On Sept. 11, 2012, an American flag, as usual, flew over the 980th Engineering Battalion at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

The large airfield complex is maintained by the U.S. Armed Forces and the International Security Assistance Force. And that was where Army Specialist (SPC) Rafael Nieves, a volunteer firefighter with the Warwick Fire Department's Excelsior Hose Company, was stationed.

As a former volunteer civilian firefighter and New York resident, Nieves was granted a request to obtain the flag, which was flown on that significant date, an anniversary of the fateful day when terrorists attacked the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.

He had kept contact with firefighters at his former firehouse in Warwick and had asked them if they would be interested in a flag flown over a military installation in the war zone. They were and now back home, he recently presented the flag and a certificate of authentication from Task Force Lone Star made out to the Excelsior Hose Company.

Nieves, who lives in Goshen with his wife, Gina, was living in Warwick and serving as a volunteer firefighter when he first enlisted in the Army.

After basic training at Fort Knox and several assignments at other posts, he was deployed with the 668 Brigade to Afghanistan in November 2011.

Last year, Nieves, whose expertise was in communications and electronics, was on duty in a guard tower when it collapsed. As a result of his injuries, he was medically evacuated to the military hospital at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

"There were explosions and fighting all around us but I had to get taken out by a guard tower," he said.

Nieves is technically on active duty with the Army and still on orders until he is medically retired. He currently receives ongoing medical treatment at West Point.

Although his name appears on the roster, until he passes a physical exam and is retrained, Nieves cannot respond to fires with his fellow firefighters at Excelsior.

His future plans include completing studies for a business science degree and a career with his former employer, Blue Cross Blue Shield.

- Roger Gavan