By Staff Sgt. Steven Smith

Texas Army National Guard

April 30, 2018

 

Texas Army National Guard engineers from the 836h Engineer Company, 136th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, work alongside soldiers from the Indiana National Guard, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in support of Operation Toxic Lance, a search and rescue exercise involving a chemical warfare scenario, March 12-23, 2018, at Training Area Lest in central Slovakia. The soldiers were brought together as part of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program that focuses on building interoperability and strengthening international relationships through military-to-military exchanges.

Texas Army National Guard engineers from the 836h Engineer Company, 136th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, work alongside soldiers from the Indiana National Guard, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in support of Operation Toxic Lance, a search and rescue exercise involving a chemical warfare scenario, March 12-23, 2018, at Training Area Lest in central Slovakia. The soldiers were brought together as part of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program that focuses on building interoperability and strengthening international relationships through military-to-military exchanges. (Photo by Capt. Martha Nigrelle)

TRAINING AREA LEST, Slovakia – Seventeen Texas Army National Guard engineers from the 136th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade's 836th Engineer Company provided search and rescue support and participated recently in a multinational exercise, Operation Toxic Lance, at this site in central Slovakia.

The operation, which ran March 12-23, brought together chemical and engineer-trained Soldiers from the Texas and Indiana Army National Guards as well as the Slovakian and Czech Republic militaries, as part of the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program that focuses on building interoperability and strengthening international relationships through military-to-military exchanges.

The Texas-based Soldiers are search and rescue qualified and provide real-world response to FEMA Region VI as one part of the Texas-run Homeland Response Force, under the command of the 136th.

The purpose of this exercise was to participate with and to demonstrate search and rescue skillsets to partnered service members in the Slovakian and Czech Republic military chemical response units.

"We do not have any type of search and rescue units, or soldiers trained in that discipline here in the Slovak army," said Lt. Col. Oliver Toderiska, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Battalion commander for the Slovakian army. "Seeing the Texas Soldiers integrated with our chemical response teams, working hand in hand with our own soldiers shows us how we could also use search and rescue."

While Texas brought refined search and rescue skills, techniques and procedures to the exercise to share with their partners, their Slovakian allies brought experienced chemical experts to share training and response procedures.

The Texas search and rescue team has trained countless hours on simulated exercises, involving scenarios such as accidental and terrorism themed mass explosions, radiation threats and hazardous chemicals. But the main effort during Operation Toxic Lance was a chemical weapons threat and each day a new scenario was presented around that threat forcing Soldiers to respond to new challenges.

One scenario presented a lab, run by a terrorist organization that manufactured chemical weapons and released a chemical.

"We've worked a lot with how to perform in and mitigate radiation threats, but we haven't spent a lot of time on weaponized chemical agents," said Sgt. Myles Merriweather, Texas Army National Guard search and rescue team member. "We can take what we've learned here and use it to establish our own (processes) back home."

Each service member involved in Operation Toxic Lance went through a scenario where a live chemical agent was used. For most of the engineers who are certified in search and rescue, this this was the first time they were exposed to a live chemical agent. The exercise built confidence in their equipment, proved the concept of proper decontamination and showed the importance of technical proficiency in a chemical environment.

"The Texas Soldiers have come a long way since they first arrived," said Slovakian Army Capt. Labraska, doctor of chemistry for the Slovak unit, speaking on the Texas National Guard Soldiers' ability to adapt to new tactics, techniques and procedures.

The Slovak army has state of the art chemical labs, reconnaissance vehicles, equipment, agents and they are subject-matter experts in combating chemical warfare, but have no formal training in search and rescue disciplines.

With the increased threat of terrorism throughout the globe, the Slovak chemical unit is studying how to improve rapid mobilization, response operations and augment rescue efforts in a chemical attack, should that day ever come.

"The Slovak military doesn't usually practice with its local first responders, nor is there a procedure in place for it, but luckily that's something that our task force does very well," said one of the Texas Guard members serving as a search and rescue evaluator for the exercise. "What makes our organization so good at working with any entity and in operational constraints is that we will augment the efforts on the ground and provide whatever support the incident commander needs. Even though we are a military unit, we don't take over an event, we provide the most good for the most people in whatever capacity we're needed."

Texas Guard members discussed these methods at the National Slovakia Emergency Response Conference, as well as, Slovak Lt. Gen. Pavel Macko, the deputy chief of defense, British Gen. Andrew Garth serving as the military attaché to Slovakia, and a group of military command staff comprised of leaders from several other countries.

"I don't know how you Guard Soldiers do it," Garth remarked. "How you're able to have a combat military specialty and also find the time to train on a completely different task such as this, as complicated as this, and be proficient, is beyond me."

Participating in Operation Toxic Lance was a huge endeavor for the Texas Soldiers involved, every day putting on a chemical suit and mask while conducting physically demanding complex search and rescue operations. But the end result was an experience that was once in a military career.

"The training gave me a new perspective on how search and rescue operations can integrate into chemical reconnaissance" said Spc. Katty Gracia, chemical noncommissioned officer for the 836th Engineer Company. "Even with a language barrier, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you have a common goal and the right motivation."

TX, UNITED STATES

04.29.2018

Story by Airman 1st Class Katie Schultz

149th Fighter Wing (Texas Air National Guard)

 

During her freshman year of high school, Airman 1st Class Rosa Vittori, a personnelist with the 149th Fighter Wing, was inspired to join the Air Force after watching her school’s ROTC drill team perform.

Her dream was cut short, however, when she became pregnant at 15 years old.

“It was hard being pregnant in high school, and I just wanted to get out of there,” said Vittori.  “I dropped out of ROTC, took senior classes, and finished in three years. After graduating, I felt like I couldn’t go join the Air Force because I had a young kid.”

Many years and two more children later, Vittori was set in a routine of working eight to five as an office manager, going to school and raising her daughters when a thought occurred to her.

“There came a point where I asked myself, ‘what are you doing with your life? What do you have to show for yourself?’” said Vittori. “My sister-in- law told me about the Guard and said it might be a good option for me so I wouldn’t have to move my kids all around, but I could still serve.”

After hearing that advice, Vittori contacted a recruiter at the 149th FW then took the ASVAB, an aptitude test used to determine enlistment qualification for military service. Since it had been so many years since Vittori had seen the material being tested, she did not pass.

“After I failed, I thought maybe it wasn’t meant to be,” said Vittori. “It didn’t happen after high school, and it’s not happening now. I kind of got down about that, but I thought ‘let’s just go ahead and do it again.’”

While balancing work and motherhood, she took the ASVAB again and passed, enlisting into the wing in 2016. She then completed her job training in personnel and earned a technician position at the wing shortly thereafter.

“Serving in the Guard has given me so many more opportunities than I thought possible,” Vittori said. “I also feel like I’m setting a good example for my kids. My youngest and my middle one talk about joining the Air Force now, and honestly that’s the main goal – to be a good role model for them. I want my kids to remember me for going after my dreams even though I had a hard start. That’s what I want to show them.”

Trying to be that positive role model is not always easy.

“When I was at tech school, I missed two of my daughters’ birthdays,” Vittori said. “I also missed my oldest daughter’s cheerleading competitions which was hard because we have a routine where I do her make-up and get her ready. But with me gone, she had to have other
moms help her, so it was tough to know that she was alone on important days.”

According to Airman 1st Class Rubie Rodriguez, a close friend of Vittori and an aviation resource management specialist with the 149th FW, challenges don’t keep her friend from her goals.

“She’s open-minded and has a positive outlook even when she’s faced with obstacles,” said Rodriguez. “We always say ‘it gets better.’ And whenever anyone else is going through a hard time, she will drop everything at a moment’s notice to be there whether you just need to
vent or need an open ear. She’s an amazing friend and I’m happy to have her.”

Rodriguez said she periodically checks in on Vittori.

“Sometimes I call her in the morning as she’s going into work, either getting coffee or walking out the door, to see how she’s doing,” said Rodriguez. “We keep each other accountable, and she can always count on her second family at the Guard.”

And even though it took her longer to start her military career in the Guard, Vittori is glad she persevered and didn’t let fear of failure hold her back. She encourages others to do the same.

“I feel like a lot of people get caught up in the what-ifs and what could go wrong and they never think of what could go right,” Vittori said. “You just have to do it, if you want to do something, you have to do it without thinking. Don’t think about the things you’re going to miss, because sacrifices have to be made in order to reach your dreams. But once you reach that dream, it brings out another side you never knew was there, and it’s worth it.”

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES

04.26.2018

Story by 1st Lt. Allegra Boutch

100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

 

In our social media obsessed world, everyone and their pet has a personal brand. It’s the public-facing reputation you make for yourself or what people remember you by. As military service members, we chose our brand when we put on the uniform and promised to live the mission and values of our organization. When we wear the uniform, we should feel pride, but also remember that we were issued it so we could be easily identified.

Military public affairs professionals have an acute awareness of how individuals on-and-off duty affect the military’s public reputation. As a Public Affairs Officer (PAO), my job is to help our leaders make informed decisions and assist the civilian media to document and communicate the actions of the service. In this article, I’ll list some of my own experiences where the actions of service members affected our public standing. It matters, because that character and public reputation can help us win wars, save lives and build morale. 

It isn’t optimism, but observation that leads most of us to say we work with the best human-beings in the world. As the Executive Officer for the 100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, last year I had the privilege of leading a team of incredible soldiers who reported on incredible individuals. We began the year at Camp Williams in Utah, at Cyber Shield 17, an annual exercise that included members of the National Guard from 44 states and territories, the U.S. Army Reserve, state and federal government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and private industry. 

The two-week exercise was designed to assess participants’ ability to respond to cyber incidents. Over the weeks, we saw civilians, soldiers and government agents work together to ensure that government and civilian infrastructure was safe against cyberattack. While it’s our job to defend our nation, what struck me was most of the guardsmen and reservists on this mission were also members of local law enforcement and civilian emergency response. These citizen-soldiers worked week and weekend in their communities, and when we published our stories their communities noticed. 

It figured that my own soldiers did so well at their jobs that we were invited a few months later to provide public affairs support to Saber Strike 17 in Pabrade, Lithuania. While the potential threat during Exercise Cyber Shield 17 was invisible and unknown, in Lithuania, it was very real, and just next door. Exercise Saber Strike 17 was a NATO exercise hosted by four Eastern-European countries, including Lithuania, and designed to promote regional stability and security while strengthening partner capabilities and fostering trust in our Baltic allies. The exercise, which combined 20 partnered nations, focused on building interoperability and improving friendships between our allies. 

What started as a public affairs mission turned into something larger however when our presence as public affairs soldiers became key to mission success. Just as it was important for us to foster these friendships, it was also important for us to show locals across the participating countries that U.S. support does not waver. During a Field Day hosted for local Lithuanians, the number of ‘thank you’s” and hugs U.S. Soldiers received was enough to win any heart. But it was only with the realization that less than 30 years ago Lithuania was still under Soviet rule that the soldiers really began to understand how much their presence was appreciated. 

During the exercise, we were able to bring hope because the U.S. Army and the U.S. Soldier is still seen in the world as a refuge for those in need. So, when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, people stranded by the flood water knew to look for camo. The 100th MPAD helped document soldiers rescuing Houstonians from their homes. My own duties also included embedding members of the media with soldiers, so they could help report the soldier story.

Through tragedy and uncertain times, service members need to be the figures our communities and allies can look to for help. When soldiers defame the uniform and our mission by behaving dishonorably, they are crippling the people we serve. It may be hard to correct a friend’s behavior, or take seriously staunch memos about how to behave, but the United States is still an example to the world, and our members of the military need to be as well. 

Live your mission. Make it your brand.

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES

04.25.2018

Story by Spc. Christina Clardy

36th Infantry Division (TXARNG)

 

AUSTIN, Texas – The 36th Infantry Division commemorates the 100th anniversary of entering World War I and the 75th anniversary of entering World War II in 2018, by remembering the unit’s history, honoring its service members and paying tribute to its fallen heroes. Members of the Texas Military Forces Museum’s Living History Detachment honored those historical Soldiers by reenacting a World War II battle during the Texas Military Department Open House, Apr. 21-22, 2018 at Camp Mabry in Austin.

“History is about people – the sacrifices that people have made,” said Gill Eastland, a history enthusiast and re-enactor with the Texas Military Forces Museum’s Living History Detachment. “Without those people, without their lives and deaths, we would not have our history. They deserve to be honored and remembered for that.”

Muster Day

The 36th Division was created by the U.S. War Department in Washington D.C., July 18, 1917, with the publication of General Order Number 95. Eight days later, men from the Texas and Oklahoma National Guards began to muster at Camp Bowie in Fort Worth, for federal military service. Thus, the “Texas Division” was born.

World War I

After initial and extensive training, the division boarded ships and trekked across the Atlantic Ocean to join the fight against the Central Powers in Europe. The division consisted of two infantry brigades with two infantry regiments each, an artillery brigade with four regiments and four specialized support regiments.

“The U.S. entered World War I in April 1917,” said Eastland. “But the war in Europe had already gone on for two years at that point.”

Jumping into the war mid-fight, the division endured 24 days of combat during the Meuse-Argonne offensive as part of the French 4th Army in the north east of France. This offensive was part of the final Allied offensive push of World War I and was later recognized as the largest American campaign of the war with more than 1.2 million American soldiers.

“For the European Armies, most of the war was fought in trenches,” said Eastland. “But most of the American troops spent more time fighting across open ground trying to overtake different enemy positions.”

Eastland continued, “And although our experiences weren’t the same in length of time or location as say the French or British, we suffered a tremendous amount of casualties such as frontal assaults against machine guns and artillery fire both incoming and outgoing.”

After fighting through the Argonne Forest, the “Texas Division” with the French 4th Army, operating on the left flank of the U.S. 1st Army, engaged German forces in heavy combat near the village of St. Etienne on Oct. 9-10, 1918. Several hundred German soldiers and officers were captured, including their artillery resources.

Upon discovering that the Germans were tapping their telephone communications, the solution from 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 71st Infantry Brigade, was to use one of the more than 26 Native American languages known by Soldiers within the unit to encode Allied communications and disperse the code talkers throughout units along the Aisne River. With the Germans unable to decode their communications, the 36th and their French counterparts made significant advances on the Western Front, putting much needed pressure on the German Forces.

On Nov. 11, 1918, an armistice was signed and “The Great War” came to an end.

“As a percentage of troops engaged, World War I was more deadly than World War II for the U.S. military,” said Jeff Hunt, director of the Texas Military Forces Museum and commander of the museum’s Living History Detachment. “We lost more people more quickly in a smaller physical space in World War I than we did in the Second World War.”

After the war, the division returned home to Texas where it was demobilized and became an all Texas National Guard unit. The division suffered more than 2,500 casualties in World War I, including 466 killed in action. Two of its members earned the nation’s highest award for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor.

“This year, 2018, is the [36th Division’s] 100th anniversary for [entering] World War I,” said Eastland, who is a re-enactor for both World War I and World War II. “World War I was called ‘The Great War’ and those who fought in it, those who sacrificed in it and those that gave their lives in it deserve our remembrance and our respect.”

World War II

Nearly 25 years later, as the U.S. prepared for the possibility of joining the Allied Forces in World War II, the “Fighting 36th” was again mobilized into federal military service. The division spent the next two years undergoing rigorous training at the new Camp Bowie near Brownwood, Texas, at Camp Blanding, Florida, and at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, to include the newly formed Ranger training provided by British Commandos.

“The men that went to war with the 36th Division in World War II mobilized Nov. 19, 1940 and didn’t come home until late 1945,” said Hunt. “There were no tours of duty; you were in for the duration. You came home when one of three things happened: you won the war and the Army was done with you, you were so badly wounded or crippled that the Army could not fix you and keep you in the ranks or you were killed.”

In the fall of 1941, the 2nd Battalion of the 131st Field Artillery became the first American unit to fight on foreign soil in World War II after it was detached from the division and sent to the Pacific Theater. At the fall of Java in the Indonesian Islands, the service members of this unit became prisoners of the Japanese. Their fate was unknown for the rest of the war and the unit became known as “The Lost Battalion.” Many of those captured worked on the Burma Railway or were detained in prisoner of war camps for the next three and a half years.

The rest of the division landed in North Africa in the spring of 1943, and continued training in preparation to enter combat in Europe. In September 1943, a massive invasion, codenamed Operation Avalanche, combined the U.S.’s 36th and 45th Infantry Divisions, and Britain’s X Corps as they kicked off the Allied Forces’ Italian campaign.

More than 450 U.S. and British warships, transports, support vessels and landing craft cruised into the Gulf of Salerno off the eastern coast of Italy in the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 9th. The transports carried 100,000 British Commonwealth troops, 69,000 American Soldiers, and 20,000 vehicles of various types. The 36th made an amphibious assault landing at Salerno, Italy, making it the first U.S. division to land on the European continent in World War II.

The division encountered heavy German opposition pushing north through Altavilla, Naples, San Pietro and Cassino. The division took heavy losses attempting to breach the Rapido River, Jan. 20-22, but was harshly repelled by the German 15th Panzer Grenadier Division. In those 48 hours the 36th Division sustained 1,681 casualties out of the 6,000 men who took part: 143 were killed, 663 were wounded, and 875 were missing.

“Typically [the casualty rate] was 1500 to 2500 casualties a month killed in direct enemy combat during World War II,” said Hunt. “But there were some engagements that had particularly high casualty rates.”

In May 1944, the 36th, nicknamed the “Texas Army,” moved to the Anzio beachhead to reinforce Allied troops there during Operation Diadiem. After weeks of fighting and pushing to cross the German Winter Line, the 36th led a breakout that resulted in the capture of Rome, June 4th.

After the 36th had been fighting nine months in the Italian Campaign, Allied Forces conducted Operation Overlord, also known as “D-Day,” into Normandy in northern France. Soon after, the “Arrowhead Division” moved up into Southern France for Operation Dragoon. The 36th then moved up through the Rhone River valley, putting pressure on the southern German lines.

The 36th then moved quickly across France to the foothills of the Vosges Mountains and began a harsh winter campaign to take control of the mountain passes. After several months, the vital mountain passes were under Allied control and purged of German blockades. 

The Germans launched a counteroffensive attack in December 1944, but were repelled by the “Fighting 36th” in Alsace, France. It was during this time that the division encountered some of the fiercest artillery combat of the war. The “Texas Army” resumed their push across France to the Rhine River valley, encountering heavy German resistance at Hauenau, Oberhofen and Wissembourg. In March 1945, the division assisted in breaching the Siegfried Line and entered Germany. There they liberated the Dachau and Landsburg Concentration Camps, April 1945.

On May 8th, also known as Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), the division captured the commander of All German Forces on the Western Front, General Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, while based in Kitzbühel, Austria.

In more than 400 days of combat, the division suffered nearly 19,500 casualties with 3,131 Soldiers killed in action. The unit returned home in December 1945 and continued service back in the Texas Army National Guard.

The 36th secured a reputation for great bravery and valor. Seventeen members of the 36th Infantry Division received the Medal of Honor during World War II, which cemented a legacy that is still significant today at home and in Europe.

“The thing that is always most impressive is that combat veterans, in both World War I and World War II, will tell you that they aren’t heroes,” said Hunt. “They will tell you that the heroes are the ones that didn’t come home. The heroes are the ones who are still there or in our National Cemeteries sleeping beneath the white stone crosses and stars of David.

“They didn’t want to go to war,” continued Hunt. “They didn’t want to be there. They would have rather have been home going about their lives. But their country needed them so when their country called, they stepped up. They did the job and they paid the price. For those that died and for those that lived, they will all always be true heroes.”

The Texas Military Department, in conjunction with the American Heroes Air Show, presented its annual public Open House and Air Show on Camp Mabry in Austin, April 21-22. During the event, the Texas Military Department showcased its civilian and first responder partnerships with operations demonstrations, air-to-ground missions, and historic reenactments including the Texas Military Forces Museum’s Living History Detachment, which gave an adapted re-enactment of the 36th Infantry Division’s December 1944 St. Marie pass engagement in Southern France.

DJIBOUTI

04.24.2018

Story by Master Sgt. Sarah Mattison

Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa

 

DJIBOUTI, Africa - Service members assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and Camp Lemonnier participated in a joint mass-casualty exercise, April 24. This exercise enabled multiple units to work together to tackle complex issues, while securing, treating, extricating and evacuating simulated casualties.

The exercise, which started with a simulated improvised explosive device (IED) blast on a convoy, included twenty-five volunteers that had been moulaged with various simulated injuries requiring triage and treatment. Guardsmen from the Texas Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 144th Infantry Regiment arrived on scene as the quick-reaction force and secured the area. At the same time, pararescuemen (PJs) from the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron (82nd ERSQ) circled above in a C-130J Super Hercules operated by the 75th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, preparing to jump to the site below.

“The overall goal is to demonstrate a capability to interoperate with all of these different partners as part of a mass-casualty exercise,” said 1st Lt. Jake, with the 82nd ERSQ. “We can jump the PJs in, establish site security with the site security team and then the PJs can treat and determine who needs the most critical care.”

The PJs also jumped with a couple of tandem passengers, including the tactical air control party (TACP) and a doctor. After hitting the ground, the doctor took over the casualty collection point and began triaging and treating patients, while the TACP maintained airspace deconfliction and surveyed helicopter landing zones to expedite evacuation of the simulated casualties. Simultaneously, the PJs began extricating individuals that were trapped inside of the crushed vehicles.

Staff Sgt. Matthew, who works in material management support for the 82nd ERSQ, volunteered to be one of the simulated casualties.

“I volunteered because I wanted to support an exercise that could potentially be a real world medevac response,” Matthew said. “I think this [training] is important because being in a deployed environment, this could potentially become a real world situation.”

While planning for the exercise was lengthy, it was training that was well worth the time and effort that it took to put together

“Doing this exercise, not only does it demonstrate that we have these capabilities, but it also means that we are training with these capabilities as we go along,” said Jake. “So if this were to happen real word, then we’ve already done training with these guys and agencies before, so it would be easy to put together different pieces of what we’ve already done today.”

TX, UNITED STATES

04.22.2018

Sgt. Amberlee Bouverhuis

 

AUSTIN, Texas - Camp Mabry opened its doors to the public during its annual Texas Military Department Open House and American Heroes Air Show April 21-22 2018. During the event organizations State Active Duty mission was highlighted.

“ For a state active duty mission, we respond to a multiple of things whether it be forest fires, flooding, winter events, whenever we have ice or snow and of course hurricanes,” said Chief Master Sgt. Michael Cornitius, Command Senior Enlisted Leader for the Texas Military Department. “It’s a state support piece, so we can help Texans, which is what we are here for.”

The Texas National Guard and State Guard is composed of service members that the State Governor can activate to State Active Duty status in response to natural, man-made disasters or Homeland Defense missions.

Recently the Texas Military Department responded to the Governor's call for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, assisting local services in rescue and aid to those affected by the disaster. Two Soldiers with 551st Multi-Role Bridge Co., 386th Engineer Battalion, 176th Engineer Brigade out of El Campo, Texas, were present at the open house to share their stories about their role in the relief effort.

“We went out on the first day after Harvey hit to the nearby communities of Katy, Texas.” said Sgt. Robert Matthews.

“It was a challenge to see the loss, but we saved a lot of people and the lives are what matters.” said Sgt. Willie Wallace.

Opportunities for service members to share their stories with the public is why Cornitius says the open house is important.

“It’s a chance for us to showcase the tools, equipment, and the soldiers and airmen available to help the state and our citizens” said Cornitius. “The citizens of Austin get to come out and look at what we have and how we are supporting them.”

This two day event hosted over 5,000 guests, who were able to see and interact with Texas Military service members and learn about their State Active Duty capabilities.

TMD Exit Interview of Colonel Stanley E. Golaboff.

TX, UNITED STATES

04.04.2018

Story by Sgt. Steve Johnson

100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

 

AUSTIN, Texas - The southernmost tip of Texas falls into what is colloquially known as “The Valley.” No one really knows why it’s called this since the actual Rio Grande Valley proper consists of just the four counties of Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy and Starr counties and the nearest mountains are hundreds of miles away. The land is flat, tropical and the home of a predominantly, Hispanic population.

It was there, in what she calls the “blink-and-you'll-miss-it” town of Premont that Texas Army National Guard Staff Sgt. San Juanita Escobar took the first steps that would both change her life and the lives of hundreds of young women in Texas and around the world.

These first steps consisted of beauty pageants in the nearby and even smaller town of Concepcion, where pageant competitions are the source of longstanding family rivalries, and defending a title is a matter of honor. Back then no one anticipated that this south Texas girl from the Valley would rise to the title of Mrs. Texas Galaxy.

“Pageants were always something that my family did,” Escobar said. “We had the crown for years, so it was something you just did when you reached a certain age. After that, I competed in several smaller, regional pageants and county fairs.”

Those pageants led to small, local modeling jobs and eventually to auditions in California. But as much as Escobar dreamed of getting out of the small town she lived in, she decided this was not the path she wanted to follow. Commitments at home made her decide to decline the audition call-backs.

“At the time, I wasn’t going to pick up and move to California,” she said. “I had sports, school and my friends that were more important to me. I also didn’t want to do that to the rest of my siblings, so I put all that on the back burner.”

So Escobar stayed in Premont, filling every spare moment of time with studies, volleyball, basketball, cross-country, tennis, and band until one day during her senior year she was approached by a recruiter from the Texas Army National Guard. 

Then everything changed, and it changed in a matter of days. 

“When the National Guard recruiter came and talked to me, and explained the education benefits, I was sold and it became a matter of ‘how fast can we do this?’” Escobar said. “So I met my recruiter on Tuesday and I was enlisted by Friday.”

Naturally, the abruptness of Escobar’s decision came as a quite a shock to friends and family. But while joining the military was a leap into unknown territory for Escobar and her family, the lure of education and travel while still being able to serve close to home was irresistible to the 17 year -old.

“I never really knew much about the military,” she said. “When they told me I could serve part-time, serve my country, still make a change in the world, better my community and still get my education, that’s really what made the National Guard stand out from the other services.”

In July of 2008, Escobar finally left the small towns of her childhood for basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

“I’m very competitive. I always want to win and be the best, so I used that as my driving force,” she said.

Basic Training was not without some challenges for Escobar. This was her first time really being away from her home and her family. Without them, she had to discover and nurture new internal strengths to help her get through some of the tougher moments on her path to becoming a soldier.

“My strength to continue was knowing that this was something that I truly wanted,” she said. “I knew it was going to change my life for the better and I knew it would make my family proud.”

When she graduated in November of that year, Escobar returned to Texas and was assigned to the 368th Engineer Battalion, in Corpus Christi. There she worked in personnel administration, processing paperwork for other soldiers to deploy. It was also while there that she quickly began to feel like it wasn’t enough.

“I was there for maybe two drills before I started seeing that all my friends were deploying and I really loved the National Guard active life, so I volunteered to deploy,” she said.

By this point many might look for a chance to relax, but Escobar was looking for a chance to be on the move again. She had been home for about six months when an opportunity came up to deploy to Djibouti, Africa with 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment as a member of the security forces for a civil affairs team.

While in Africa, the future Mrs. Texas Galaxy saw a problem, and in a move that would come to be a hallmark of her military career, she decided to help solve it.

“While I was assigned to the civil affairs team, I helped create the Women’s Initiative Program in Ethiopia,” Escobar said. “Because of how high the school dropout rate is for young women, we developed special groups to go to different villages and orphanages to educate and empower them to speak to their political figures and to also inform other women about different political and medical issues.“ In many parts of Africa, women are routinely subjected to discrimination and violence by virtue of tradition or customs. Escobar’s team was engaged to address these issues head on through a combination of education and strength.

“The women always felt alone, like it was them against everyone, so we brought groups together for school and we would teach them that if males don’t want to help them, they can help each other,” she said. “That effort fostered an environment of empowerment for them and let them know that their internal strength could be used to benefit each other.”

The first groups started with 20 girls who were between the ages of 18 to 23, but would eventually reach out to thousands of girls of all ages. The Women’s Initiative Program also worked closely with the Improving the Quality of Primary Education program and the National Women’s Coalition Against HIV and AIDS, to reach even further. When then Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno heard about the program he expanded it, leading to an outreach in 13 different countries that focused on teaching women to advocate for themselves.

When that mission was over, Escobar returned home and eventually became a recruiter for the Texas Army National Guard so she could continue to change young people’s lives the way her own life was changed. It was here that she again saw a specific problem that she felt she could solve.

“When I was a recruiter, my motivation was that I knew where I started and I know where I’m at now and I just want to tell people that there’s going to be light if that’s what they choose, if they choose to turn their challenges into a positive,” Escobar said. “When I would talk to students, the females would always say ‘Oh, I’m too girly to serve in the military,’ or they would worry they weren’t going to be able to ‘be girly.’”

So she did what any recruiter would do in that situation. She started doing pageants again.

“I started doing beauty pageants again and then I would go into schools and show them a pageant picture but I would be there in uniform and I would say that ‘you can’t tell me you can’t do this.’ It was after that I started seeing more of an ‘I can do this’ attitude,” Escobar said.< /p>

Going back in the pageant world after travelling the globe as a Soldier gave Escobar a unique perspective. She drew on those experiences and prepared as rigorously as she would for a military mission, using the training and confidence she gained while serving to make her an even tougher and more determined competitor. After three years, Escobar left the recruiting world to dedicate more time to school but was still competing in pageants.

On March 10th, 2018 she was crowned Mrs. Texas Galaxy. The Galaxy Pageant system ends with the Galaxy International Competition in Orlando, Florida. In July she will represent Texas against dozens of competitors from all over the world. Despite this potential for international celebrity, her primary focus remains serving those in need.

As Mrs. Texas Galaxy, she focuses on highlighting suicide prevention for veterans and spreading awareness. And as a Texas Guardsman she focuses on helping others around the world and specifically her fellow Texans.

“As a member of the National Guard I have been able to go to multiple countries but I have also been able to serve stateside,” said Escobar. “I saw the impact of what it meant when our soldiers went in to help during Hurricane Harvey, and how much our citizens appreciated that. To me that’s important because these are our friends and family. Who is going to take care of them better than us, ourselves?”