Arizona sisters deploy downrange

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- “When I arrived here I was tired from the trip so I climbed on a bunk and fell asleep,” said Senior Airman Jami Mora, 386th Expeditionary Security Forces fire team member.

Mora was assigned to a 20-woman tent upon arrival to her deployed location and out of all the beds available, she randomly chose a bed on a bunk occupied by Senior Airman April Delgado, 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron services technician.

Delgado had arrived the day prior and was not around to greet her new bunk mate.

“When I came in and saw her there, sleeping on the bunk, I tapped her on the head. It was an exciting family reunion,” said Delgado. “We took a picture and sent it home.”

Mora and Delgado are step-sisters deployed from the 944th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, and have consistently been linked together throughout their lives and currently find themselves together again, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

Both are reservists with the Air Force Reserve Command and have been on similar paths for quite some time.

“We went to the same elementary school and never knew our parents knew each other,” said Mora. “Our parents went to school together when they were in the 7th grade.”

Delgado’s father and Mora’s mother briefly shared a grade school romance but then went on with their lives eventually starting families of their own. Ten years ago, when the girls were 13 years old, their parents reconnected. They ended up getting married, making Mora and Delgado sisters, reinforcing the girl’s life path with each other.

Mora has wanted to enlist since she was six years old and joined the 944th FW first, right out of high school. Delgado followed her sister a few years after graduating high school. According to the sisters, the conjoined family, including six other siblings, share a healthy competitive rivalry.

“We are both the same age and we’re really competitive with each other,” Delgado said. “I saw her enlist and I thought to myself, ‘if she could do it, I can do it.’”

This is their first deployment and they have been given a front row seat to witness how important their jobs are to the mission in the area of responsibility.

“I see how many people we affect every day,” said Mora. “Being deployed here and providing security for U.S. and coalition partner nations puts what I do in perspective and helped me see the big picture.”

Their father, Christopher Delgado, expressed how proud he and their mother are of them and what their initial thoughts were when they heard about the deployment downrange.

“We were concerned, worried, and stressed knowing that both of our daughters were going to be so far away,” said Christopher. “Both are the most strong minded of our eight children and coming from a strong faith-based family, we knew and still know they would be just fine. God is with them and we pray they pursue and accomplish all of their hearts desires.”

Fate seems to continue to set the Arizona girls on the same path and the sisters say they have grown closer and their adventures in the military have taught them to lean on each other more.

“We are blessed that both our parents reconnected because if it wasn't for Jami and my step-mom Sara, I wouldn’t have known about military life,” Delgado said. “Through my experiences in the reserve and time here, I’ve learned to follow, I’ve learned to lead, and I've learned to handle situations on the spot with confidence.”