Going the distance.

There’s an old adage that says “Join the Navy and see the world.” Carlos may have coined a new adage: “Join the Navy Reserve and see the ship.” Serving on Active Duty Navy for four years, Carlos tells how his duties took him around the world twice, but since he didn’t have many opportunities to leave his duty section while on his ship, it didn’t seem that he traveled very far. “As a Machinist Mate, I spent most of my time down below with the machinery,” he says.

After transitioning from the Navy, Carlos joined the Navy Reserve a year later and cross-trained to become an Information Technologist 3rd Class (IT3). As an IT3, Carlos evaluates Navy vessels to see what computer equipment is onboard, what equipment they need and what equipment needs updating. “It’s funny,” Carlos says, “one of my first assignments for the Navy Reserve was going back to my old ship. In that one weekend, I think I saw the whole ship. It was amazing to see all these rooms and areas that I never even knew existed when I was Active.”

Experiencing new things and traveling to new places was in large part what attracted Carlos to the Navy. “I remember talking to this guy from my neighborhood who was in the Navy,” Carlos recalls, “he was telling me about all the places he had gone and about all the opportunities the Navy offered, and I said to myself, ‘yes, that’s exactly what I want.’”

In fact, Carlos had thought about joining the Navy many years before, but he never imagined that it could become a reality. Carlos was a young boy and a citizen of Guatemala at the time. “I had just seen the movie Top Gun, so it immediately became kind of a dream of mine to be in the Navy and on aircraft carriers,” he says.

“But it was really just a dream because I had no idea I’d ever be going to the United States.”

When he was 15, Carlos came to the United States to be with his mother. Three years later, he joined the Navy and, as fate would have it, he served on an aircraft carrier. While serving on the carrier, Carlos began to plan the next phase of his life. “I knew that I didn’t want to do 20 years on Active Duty,” he says. “Another reason I joined the Navy was for the educational benefits. So it was my plan to join the Navy Reserve. That way, I’d have the freedom to go to college on the ‘GI Bill,’ and I could still get my 20 years for retirement as a member of the Reserve.”

Today, Carlos is a full-time student studying criminal justice. His goal is to one day become a member of the FBI and an Officer in the Navy Reserve. Carlos lives with his wife Jeannie and, in his spare time, he enjoys swimming, hiking and playing soccer.

Carlos attends classes and lives on the West Coast.