Eloy's Story

Eloy spent about twenty three years in the Army, most of it in vehicle and equipment maintenance. He finished by running a training department at an Army school, teaching the next wave of maintainers.

When he got out he did not walk straight into a classroom. He took a maintenance manager job in manufacturing and did that for a year.

That year turned into the best advice he has for other veterans. His background was fleet maintenance, so when he left, he only applied to fleet maintenance roles. Manufacturing was wide open and he had not thought to look. In his words, there are plenty of opportunities there for anyone with mechanical or electrical experience.

Then he went back to what he had been doing at the end of his service. He built a resume on BMR aimed squarely at an Army JROTC instructor position at a high school, and he got it.

He picked that one on purpose. A JROTC instructor works the school year, which lines up with his son's schedule and gives him real time off.

Twenty three years of fixing things and teaching people to fix things. Now he teaches high schoolers.