Chaplain, Major Alexander Palomaria: Age: 56

Chaplain, Major Alexander Palomaria served 32 years in the U.S. military including nine years in the Army and 23 years in the Air Force. His Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) was Chaplain, and he served as a chaplain for 19 years. He received the following decorations, medals, badges, citations and campaign ribbons: Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon Short Tour with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long Tour, Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon, Air Force Longevity Service with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with one Hourglass Device, Air Force Training Ribbon with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and Army Service Ribbon.

Chaplain, Major Palomaria was born January 21, 1969 to his parents, Greg and Flora Palomaria in Montgomery, AL, where he was reared and graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in 1987. He participated in the U.S. Marine Corps JROTC and the wrestling team, and he played nose guard on the football team. He felt the call to the ministry while in high school, and he served for three years as an intern on the staff at Frazer United Methodist Church in Montgomery where staff members who had served in the military as chaplains mentored him leading him to his strong desire to serve as a chaplain in the U.S. military. In 1989, he completed Army Basic Training at Ft. Knox, KY, in the Simultaneous Membership Program rising from the rank of a (E-3) Private to an (01) 2nd Lt. in two years. He then participated in the Army ROTC at Auburn University at Montgomery where he received the first John Ed Mathison Scholarship and a Pell Grant. He graduated with a BSG Degree in General Studies Leadership in 1992. While there, he participated in six weeks of training in the Big Red One, the 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, KS.

After graduation, Chaplain, Major Palomaria's service in the AL National Guard began with his reporting for duty with the Army at Ft. Gordon, GA, where he trained in electronics communication with the Signal Corps for five months. After completion of this training, he was assigned to serve with the AL National Guard at Montgomery, AL. His unit was activated during Desert Storm, but it was not deployed. He began attending the Erskine Theological Seminary in South Carolina because he wanted to serve as a chaplain in the U.S. military. In 1998, he transitioned from service in the Army to the Air Force and attended the Air Force Chaplain Corps College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL. He then served in the Air Force Reserve and served three years as the associate pastor at the Destin United Methodist Church in FL. While there, he served one weekend per month and two weeks during the summer with Special Ops at Hurlburt Field, FL. In 2002, he began service on active duty at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. for three years. While at Pope AFB, he was deployed for four months to Al Udied, Qatar. From there, he went on combat missions to Baghdad, Afghanistan and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, etc. on combat missions. This was followed by service at Altus Air Force Base, OK, for two years. He then completed one year of residency training at Lackland Air Force Base, TX, to serve as a hospital chaplain in the Air Force. While there, using the G.I. Bill, he received a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Oblate School of Theology. This was followed by his first unaccompanied deployment to Kunsan, Korea, for one year. He then served at the joint base, Army Defense Language Institute at Monterey, CA. His second unaccompanied deployment was to Osan Air Base, Korea, for one year. His last deployment was an accompanied tour to Aviano, Italy, and while there he traveled twice each month to Hungary to preach sermons to members of an Air Force squadron. He returned to America and served at Mt. Home AFB, Idaho, for two years. His last military assignment was at Los Angeles AFB, CA, for four years, and he retired there July 1, 2021.

After his military retirement, Chaplain Major Palomaria served three years as the pastor of the Parker Global Methodist Church at Panama City, FL, which is located near Tyndall Air Force Base. There were many Air Force veterans as well as active duty service members living there. Since October 2024, he has served in Congregational Care at Frazer Church, a Free Methodist Church, in Montgomery, AL. He serves on the Board of Directors of Go International, a missions organization. He was married for 25 years, and he has three children and now has four grandchildren.

Chaplain Major Palomaria's conclusions about his service in the U.S. military are: "Service was a calling. I served God and country like my father and grandfather before me. My grandfather, a Filipino, served in the Philippine and American Armies during WWII and on the Bataan Death March. In 1956, at the age of 20, my father was the first Palomaria to come to the United States, and he arrived in San Francisco and immediately enlisted in the Air Force. My oldest brother served in the military. So I am a member of the 3rd generation in my family who has served. The Air Force truly is a family. We support one another in the mission which is mission first and people always." He would like people to remember him as being gentle and pure of heart.