Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Debralee Lutgen | Army Reserve Sgt. Hugo Macias, a Best Warrior competitor with the 758th Engineer...... read more read more
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FORT MCCOY, Wis. — For some service members, the military is in their blood. They find civilian life to be missing something they only seem to find with their brothers and sisters in arms.
“In those four years I did a lot,” he said. “I tell people, in those four years, I probably did what you would do in eight. So many things: we deployed to Iraq, we deployed to Japan for six months, every spring and summer we would do combined-arms exercises. I went to Australia as part of the deployment program.”
After being discharged, Macias planned on completing school.
“Initially I was looking forward to going back home and just continuing going forward with an education,” said Macias, a Miami native. “I really didn’t have any guidance, per se, when I was in the Marine Corps, I didn’t have any kind of need to go further in my career at the time.”
Macias left the military and pursued a degree in nursing and currently works in a Baptist Health South Florida Hospital as a registered nurse.
“Every day as a nurse is different so it’s kind of the same thing as when I was (on active duty),” said Macias. “I was never bored as a Marine … every day is different.”
While Macias enjoys being an RN, there was always something missing for him.
“I did get out, got my education, but then I realized I missed that small part of the military that you just don’t get in the civilian world: the stories, the camaraderie,” said Macias. “You build a different relationship with your military service members than you do with your civilian counterparts.”
In 2012 he started visiting recruiting stations to help fill that void.
“I came back at a time when they started downsizing the military forces,” said Macias. “Looking for a service that still had a lot of opportunities to come back to, the Army was the best choice. It had a lot of jobs, a lot of opportunities.”
Macias said he looked into the Marine Corps, but due to their size and availability of his specialty, they were not a good fit for him at that time. The Army gave him the ability to remain with his family and still return to the military.
Macias joined the Army Reserve in April 2012 as an interior electrician with the 758th Engineer Company in Perine, Florida, under the 841st Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, 412th Theater Engineer Command.
“He’s been in our unit for about a year and a half and has done a lot to prove himself as a leader,” said Sgt. 1st Class Charles Rosser, a platoon sergeant at the 758th. “He’s very knowledgeable on many different areas of the military.”
Macias believes he has the passion needed for his work as an RN and as a Soldier.
“As a nurse you have to enjoy being a nurse. It’s not an easy job, it’s not glamorous … You’ve got to want to be there,” said Macias. “Same thing as a service member. Not everyone
wants to ruck march 6-miles with 45 pounds on their backs or do land navigation, you want to be there.”
Macias said the Army was a little bit of a culture shock for him.
“It’s a very big difference in the culture of both services even though we fight for the same purpose,” he said. “Everything from wear of the uniform, to how you address a certain rank
… everything from the (physical fitness) test to how you talk, the language is different from service to service … but little by little I’ve learned with the guidance of senior NCOs. I’ve come to adapt better to the culture.”
Macias has adapted to the culture so well that his unit chose him to represent them at the 412th and 416th TECs’ Combined Best Warrior Competition. This year’s competition, held April 28 to May 1, tested Soldiers’ skills on marksmanship of the M4 rifle and M9 pistol, Army Warrior Tasks, land navigation, combatives and an appearance in front of a sergeants major board.
“It’s an honor to have been selected to come represent my unit and my brigade, said Macias. “It’s one of the first competitions I have done as an Army Soldier. After 10 years of not being in the military, it’s a great experience.”
While Macias said he would like to win, he is more concerned about the impact he makes on his Soldiers.
“The opportunity to compete in the Best Warrior Competition is a great challenge in itself. I do it so my junior enlisted Soldiers can see that in order to succeed you must accept a great challenge and push through it,” he said. “While I believe we are all the best warriors this nation has, I still look forward to competing with my fellow NCOs in this competition. At the end of it, regardless of the outcome, I will stand tall knowing I have competed among the Best Warriors the Army has.”
Macias contributes his success in getting this far in competing for the best warrior title to two things. The first, his service and what it taught him.
“Any military service, whether it be Marine Corps, Army, Navy or Air Force, you have that initial introduction at boot camp. You’re a warrior first and you fight for this country,” he said. “You’re pretty much broken down to a basic service member where it’s discipline, hard work, take orders … that discipline and that ethic that I was introduced to in the Marine Corps is the same ethic I bring into the Army Reserve. It’s still applied in the Army; it’s just a different way of applying it. It’s some of the reason why I advanced to a competition like this.”
He also contributes being in this competition to his motivation to always be a better Soldier.
“Even if I don’t win, I would like to go back and tell the Soldiers, ‘I was prior service with 10 years (break) in between, and look at me now. I’m here at a competition for Best Warrior,’” said Macias. “It’s the discipline, the need to want to be a better Soldier. In a competition like this you report in with some of the best Soldiers of the (TEC). You just want to be better. So when you go back, you let the Soldiers know and hopefully one of them will be willing to come back next year.”
While his drive and discipline brought him this far, one of the events of the Best Warrior Competition was made easier for him by his Marine Corps experience.
“My strongest event was the M9 pistol range,” he said. “It’s one of the few events where I was relaxed because I’ve shot it in the Marine Corps. A lot of the Soldiers had never even held the weapon before. So I was very comfortable on that range.”
While Macias said he wasn’t as comfortable with other events of the competition, he still feels he’s gained valuable knowledge from this experience.
“Everybody shares their combat experiences, their experience from their units, how to do certain events,” said Macias. “It’s great. It’s one of the few opportunities you get to be in the presence of a lot of great Soldiers.
“It’s definitely going to help in the future,” he added. “The best way to go forward in any of your goals is you have to learn from your past and this is a great start for any future boards or competitions, or just in general ... You can take it back to you unit and better train your Soldiers.”
Macias’ goal is to win the competition, if not this year, then in the future.
If I don’t make it this year, I will try to be back next year. And if I’m not able to come, hopefully one of my junior enlisted Soldiers would like to come,” he said. “I would definitely help them out as much as I can and train them up.”
Macias has filled the void of the camaraderie and brotherhood found in the military and has even proven he is one of the best the Army has to offer.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2014 10:51 |
| Story ID: | 128613 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Hometown: | MIAMI, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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