Master Sergeant Hector Santos has earned his right to wear combat and peace keeping medals proudly. Having been in the Army since 1987, Santos is a deeply devoted soldier to his country and family and wants to return to the front lines again in Iraq. “I will fight them there or here,” Santos said. “I would rather fight them there. We have to support them (the troops) over there.”
Santos is a professor of military science at East Tennessee State University, but his comrades on the battlefields of Iraq linger on his mind calling him back to the front lines of the infantry where he himself longs to be.
“I consider them my brothers,” he said, “I feel like I should be there with them.”
Santos said when soldiers experiences things together like losing a comrade, or enduring the stress and strain of the front lines, the holidays, the births of children, and the loss of family, they do become brothers.
Santos’ support of the troops in Iraq is unfailing and his devotion to the Army is evident in his life here and on the front lines. In Iraq, Santos was a 1st Sgt. in the 502nd Infantry Battalion and led a troop of 82 soldiers in ground assaults and maneuvers. The 502nd is a battalion under the umbrella of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army.
Santos credits his wife Rebecca with much of his accomplishments; he said he couldn’t have done this with out her. The two met when he was stationed in Germany. This year they celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary. Like many soldier spouses, Rebecca watched her husband and the many other soldiers when troops entered Iraq in 2003.
Santos was in the first wave of soldiers to enter Iraq from Kuwait in Operation Iraq Freedom in March of 2003.
“I saw people who were oppressed for over 30 years,” Santos said. Filled with emotion, he talked about the sacrifices he and many others have made. During his tour in Iraq, the 502nd Infantry Regiment lost 12 soldiers.
Though he mourned the deaths of his fallen comrades, Santos was greeted with new hope and inspiration when he returned home in February of 2004. Santos met his son for the first time when his battalion arrived in Fort Campbell, Ky. Kaden Harmon Santos was four months old when his father held him for the first time.
A loving father, Santos’ office is decorated proudly with pictures of his son amidst his awards and honors from his military career. “I don’t want to come back and tell my son that I hid my head in a hole,” Santos said.
This desire is not foreign to him or his family, since Santos and his brother are both third generation soldiers from Yauco, Puerto Rico. Both his father and grand father served in the armed forces.
Among his numerous medals and awards received are the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary, Terrorism Service Medals and National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star.
While stationed in Kosovo, Santos assisted in disarming the rebels in the Macedonian Civil War. He also helped established the peace agreement which still is used in Macedonia today. For these acts he was awarded the Kosovo Campaign Medal with the Bronze Star and the NATO Medal in Kosovo.
Santos has had two highlights during his career in the Army. He said serving in the 101st Airborne Division from 1987-1989 and from 1999-2004 has been a great honor for him. Secondly he received the high honor of becoming a distinguished member of the 502nd Infantry Regiment. This is an honor not given to all who serve with the 502nd and is a deep honor for any soldier.
Besides returning the battle fields with his comrades, Santos’ goal is to ultimately become a sergeant major in which he will have the same duties as a master sergeant but he will lead a larger battalion of 500 men. To accomplish this, he will attend the Sergeant Major Academy at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas next summer.

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