Recognizing Technical Sergeant Martha Socorro Ybarra, Usaf, Retired, with A Congressional Veteran Commendation

Floor Speech

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to present retired USAF Technical Sergeant Martha Socorro Ybarra of Waco, Texas, with a Congressional Veteran Commendation. Her 20-year service to our country followed by her heavily involved community service is a template for American Exceptionalism.

TSgt. Ybarra enlisted in the Air Force in May 1986, through the delayed enlistment program and began active duty on September 15, 1986, from the Syracuse, NY Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). She completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), followed by medical technician training at Sheppard AFB, and on-the-job training at Wilford Hall Medical Center. Her performance earned her early promotion and selection as a laboratory journeyman, leadership school graduate, and eventually, instructor at the School of Health Care Sciences. In 1989, she transferred to Sheppard AFB as a lab instructor and married fellow Airman, TSgt. Robert Rene Ybarra, in 1990.

In 1990, both were reassigned to Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina, where she continued lab work and had her first child. After the base closed in 1992, she transferred to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. There, she served in leadership roles, completed a Community College Air Force (CCAF) degree, and enhanced pathology specimen operations. Following the birth of her second and third child, she moved to Cannon AFB, New Mexico in January 1996, where she managed the Drug Urinalysis Program for six to seven years. Her leadership ensured a zero percent untestable rate, and she trained numerous program managers. She earned another promotion to TSgt. during this time.

In 2004, she had a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas, where she worked as a Laboratory Craftsman until her retirement in 2006. Throughout her service, she earned a second CCAF degree, was active in chapel ministries, and volunteered extensively in the base and local community, including youth programs and church education.

Following her military retirement, TSgt. Ybarra continued her service to veterans as a National Service Officer for the Military Order of the Purple Heart. By 2007, she had a solo office at the Waco VA campus, where she assisted veterans, spouses, and dependents with their VA claims and hearings for 13 years. She also joined the American Legion Post 121 and actively supported their events. In late 2007, she became involved with the McLennan County Veterans Association and continues to serve as secretary, helping organize major community events such as Vet's Fest and Veterans Day parades.

After resigning from the Purple Heart organization in August 2019, TSgt. Ybarra began working at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Waco as a claims assistant. In January 2020, she joined the Public Contact Team, and by November, she was selected as a Military Sexual Trauma Outreach Coordinator and alternate Women Veterans Coordinator. A year later, she became the primary Outreach Coordinator, continuing her mission to educate and support veterans and their families in securing the benefits they have earned.

I proudly commend retired USAF Technical Sergeant Martha Socorro Ybarra, of Waco, Texas to her friends, family, and colleagues, and salute her service to the Air Force, her country and community of Waco by awarding her with a Congressional Veteran Commendation.

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