Photo By Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton | Brig. Gen. Lenny Williams, the Assistant Adjutant General - Army of the Illinois...... read more read more
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When Francisco Orozco first approached an Army National Guard recruiter in 2016, the recruiter “would not give me the time of day.”
Orozco was overweight and had a neck tattoo. Both disqualified him from enlistment. The recruiter quickly dismissed him. He didn’t see the potential behind Orozco. He just saw a big guy with a $60 tattoo of the world with music notes emblazoned on his neck. He didn’t see the Soldier ready to emerge.
Fast forward to today and Staff Sgt. Francisco Orozco is the Illinois Army National Guard’s top recruiter. In fiscal year 2024 he recruited 35 Soldiers into the Army National Guard from the Schaumburg area and just two months into the new fiscal year and he’s already made his yearly mission with 14 recruits so far.
“I almost did give up on the National Guard (in 2016),” Orozco said. Then he got a text from Matthew Serowka, a different Illinois Army National Guard recruiter. They had a conversation about the benefits of the National Guard as well as the requirements to enlist. They talked about commitment. “He (Serowka) said that as long as I stayed committed and was willing to put in the work, he’d help.”
At the time, Orozco was a 24-year-old bass player in a metal band called Iris and was about to become a father. The 2011 Prospect High School graduate was ready for a change. “I had to do a lot of work on myself,” Orozco said. “It was time to get my life together.”
He had never thought much about the military before walking into the Illinois Army National Guard’s armory next to Chicago’s Humboldt Park in 2016. He just knew he had to do something different – change the path he was on. The Illinois Army National Guard offered new opportunities. It offered the chance to go to college, to learn job skills, start retirement savings, to get into better physical condition, to travel some, and to be part of something larger than himself. Still, not many saw the Army in Orozco’s future. “It was a big shock to all my friends.”
“He was one of the more motivated ones,” said Serowka, who is now Orozco’s first sergeant and leads the H Company “Honey Badgers” - the top-recruiting company in the state. “He came to drill with us as a guest for a year straight doing all the physical training,” Serowka said. Between 2016 and 2017, Orozco shed 60 pounds. He paid $1,600 for multiple laser treatments to remove the $60 tattoo – neck tattoos are now waiver-able but were not back then. He studied for the ASVAB raising his score by more than 30 points so he could enlist as a combat medic (68W).
Orozco said he just needed direction and an opportunity. The Illinois Army National Guard provided both. He grew up one of five children in a single-parent household. His mother, Linda, did what she could to keep the family afloat, but Orozco said he grew up without role models – people who would show him a way to success. People like Serowka and Command Sgt. Maj. Chad Mcdannald, the command sergeant major of the Illinois Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion, became Orozco’s mentors.
In 2017, he successfully enlisted. He has lost an additional 40 pounds since becoming a Soldier. His daughter, Mia, is now 8 years old and is “just like me,” Orozco said.
Orozco’s band Iris is no longer on the local metal scene. He doesn’t have a lot of time to rock with the Thunderstick anymore.
But he does have someone to rock his world. He is engaged to Berwyn Fire Department Firefighter/Paramedic Fabi Amezcua. Both were combat medics in the Illinois Army National Guard’s North Riverside-based 708th Medical Company and met in 2021 when the unit was manning the COVID-19 testing site in Peoria for nearly five months.
While nostril swabs, snots, rubber gloves, and masks might not seem like the most romantic setting, both were serving their community during a time of need. Their love blossomed behind the personal protective equipment.
“She has been my greatest support system throughout my journey. Her unwavering encouragement and dedication inspire me daily,” Orozco said. When he received the award as the Illinois Army National Guard’s top recruiter in November, Fabi was right there with him. “I’m proud to celebrate this achievement with her.”
Orozco does still strum his guitar now and then and plans to put a bit more time into it. However, now he is in the business of “transforming lives.” He doesn’t think of it as recruiting. He and his team look at it as making people’s lives better.
Mcdannald said that the one thing Orozco does very well is take care of people. “He works hard helping people through the entire process – before they enlist and after they enlist. He cares about those who he enlists and therefore they refer other potential Soldiers to him.”
Orozco said many young men and women can relate to his lived experience. They can understand how the Army National Guard helped him. “I feel like I’m paying it forward,” Orozco said. “The Illinois Army National Guard definitely changed my life, for the better.”
| Date Taken: | 01.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.02.2025 15:23 |
| Story ID: | 488631 |
| Location: | SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | BERWYN, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | NORTH RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | PEORIA, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 1,756 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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