Photo By Justin Moeller | Spc. Justin Carrillo, a biomedical equipment specialist at Blanchfield Army Community...... read more read more
Although a medical test would never definitively show it, three things run deep in Spc. Justin Carrillo’s blood: love for his family, love for the Army, and love for the game of soccer. Two years ago, when he enlisted into the United States Army, he had no idea his three loves would intersect at Fort Campbell, Ky., and open the door to an opportunity of a lifetime.
“Thirty years ago, I was actually born at this hospital,” he said. “This was my dad’s first duty station and now it’s my first duty station.”
From Cleats to Boots
Carrillo started playing soccer when he was 4-years-old. The sport, he said, offered some stability from duty-station to duty-station, and gave him a sense of belonging.
“Soccer isn’t a one-man sport,” he said. “Sure it takes individual work, but you help each other out as a team. You work together as a team. You learn how to communicate with others and it tests your endurance.”
As he grew, Carrillo played in school and recreational leagues which earned him a spot on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men’s soccer team. After he graduated, he suited up as a semi-pro defender with the Colorado Inferno, a Major Arena Soccer League, Division 2.
With a college degree from UCCS in one hand, and semi-pro experience under his belt, Carrillo needed a career. He entered a saturated job market, and struggled to find something that fit. He worked in season ticket sales for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, and enjoyed it, and then worked for a copy-printer company. He excelled in the sales field, but an illness in the family brought him back to the East Coast. He settled in New York City, worked for a marketing firm in Times Square. It was there that he met his wife, Hannah Jo, and continued to play soccer recreationally.
“Then in 2020, COVID hit,” he said. “We thought, let’s go down South where there’s not millions of people who can get us sick. She’s from Alabama, so we first went there, but then ended up in Savannah. And that’s where I really started my career.”
Carrillo found work as a medical device salesman, which he credits to his passion about the medical career field. With each brace or device he sold to physical therapy centers, he found pleasure knowing the equipment would help others to get better. He even considered going back to school to earn a doctorate as a physical therapist. But in 2021, a new Baby Carrillo arrived, and suddenly Justin Carrillo’s future shifted – he recalled the memories of the benefits the Army provided his family when he was a child.
“I started looking at the bigger picture,” he said. “It’s not just me and my wife anymore. It was more about my son, the next 20 years.”
Carrillo sat down with Hannah Jo, and discussed the healthcare benefits, saving college benefits for their child, and other opportunities the Army could provide their growing family. And at the age of 28, he called a U.S. Army Recruiter.
“I joined (in 2023) because I was thinking about the future of my son, Baylor,” he said. “There were benefits and opportunities the Army allowed me to offer him that I otherwise couldn’t.
“I knew I wanted something in the medical field, so I found 68-A, biomedical equipment specialist,” he said. “Medical is everywhere you go, and technicians are needed to keep the equipment up and running.”
He completed Basic Combat Training (BCT) and then spent a year at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for his Advanced Individualized Training (AIT). It was there that he learned how to operate behind-the-scenes and properly maintain the Army’s medical equipment and machinery. Without biomedical equipment specialists, the Army’s Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) cannot treat patients.
While at Fort Sam Houston, Carrillo gravitated back to the soccer fields in his down time. “It was a great way to stay in shape and meet people,” he said.
Going For All-Army
On a soccer field in Savannah, sometime in 2023, Carrillo mentioned to another player that he’d just enlisted in the Army. That conversation set into play what Carrillo calls “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“I played with a guy who just happened to be the goalie for the All-Army Soccer Team,” he said. “I didn’t even know we had one of those, but he said ‘you have to try out for it once you’re in.’”
Technically, Carrillo wasn’t “in” until he completed his year-long AIT. “They wanted to see me tryout last year, but I couldn’t because I was still in AIT,” he said.
This year, Carrillo will finally try out for the team, March 10 – April 2, at Fort Cavazos, Texas. He will be among 30 Soldiers who compete for 18 slots on the All-Army Soccer Team. If selected, he will play for the 2025 Armed Forces Cup, a championship where the best of the Armed Forces play against each other for bragging rights.
“The BACH team is 100% supportive and is giving me this opportunity to represent Fort Campbell and BACH on a national stage,” he said. “I’m incredibly appreciative to my leadership for its support.”
If he doesn’t make the All-Army team, Carrillo says you’ll still be able to find him on a local field, likely playing with his son or even coaching his son’s team. And he will also still bring all of the lessons he’s learned as a defensive player to his role as a U.S. Army leader.
“Soccer prepared me to be a team member, and that correlates directly with my job here in the Army,” he said.
“At my job, I do a lot of individual work that helps other people do their job,” he said. “BACH is a team too, and I’m glad to be part of it.”
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2025 16:50 |
| Story ID: | 491608 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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