Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Banzhaf | Spc. Jose Ramirez, a Yuma, Ariz., native and Infantryman with Company B, 3rd...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD,Texas – Walking down the ramp of an M2A3 Bradley, Spc. Jose Ramirez stops and sees a squad of infantryman running toward the vehicle.
He takes a breath as he makes his last round of checks on the vehicle and returns to his position in the gunner’s seat.
The squad members run up the ramp and squeeze into their bench seats. A command to raise the ramp is given and then executed.
He grabs the hand control station of the turret to prepare himself for the upcoming trial.
This is all in a day’s work for Ramirez.
Ramirez, a Yuma, Arizona, native and Bradley gunner with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, serves as an infantryman to provide a better life for his family.
“I was tired of working three jobs to support my wife and daughter,” said Ramirez, “so I did what I always wanted to do. I joined the Army.”
Physical challenges have always been attractive to him.
Growing up, he enjoyed lifting weights and running marathons.
“I always wanted to push my body to its limits,” he said. “That’s what keeps me passionate about being in the infantry.”
While the physicality of the Army is an added perk, his primary reason for enlisting began and ended with Gladys, his wife, who he met in grade school.
After Ramirez graduated from high school, he took multiple jobs in order to provide for his family and soon realized he wanted to give them more.
He spent his days working as a landscaper, as a shift leader at a restaurant, and as a car detailer.
Eventually, he talked to a recruiter to consider what Army life has to offer.
He enlisted in January of 2012 and shipped off to Fort Benning, Georgia, to attend One Station Unit Training, initial entry training in which Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training are combined.
He said he enjoyed the opportunities to learn tactics and perfect his trade when he arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, his first duty station.
“I became the driver in a Bradley,” Ramirez said. “It was new to me and I had to learn on the go. I then earned the opportunity to become the gunner.”
His accomplishments and determination didn’t go unnoticed.
“He is one of our most experienced gunners and is always a go-to guy,” said Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Spinks, first sergeant of Company B, 3-8 Cav. “He was selected over his peers and some sergeants to be the platoon leader’s gunner.”
Ramirez said his goal is to become a master gunner, who is responsible for the logistics of the Bradley vehicles.
“I like how when the student becomes the teacher,” Ramirez said. “When I got the gunner’s seat, someone had to fill the driver’s seat, and it was up to me to show him the ropes.”
While his job is demanding and requires a lot of him, Ramirez finds ways to balance the demands of work with his love for his family.
“We tend to go to the field for a week every other week,” he said. “When I get home, my wife and I pick up where we left off.”
Spending time with his wife and daughter becomes his priority when he’s not on duty.
“As soon as I get home, I get cleaned up and then find something we both like to do,” said Ramirez. “We plan little vacations to go to places, like zoos and visiting family members.”
He said he and his wife enjoy watching movies together and taking their daughter to the park to play.
“Just watching my daughter grow up is amazing,” he said.
Sometimes he and his squad members and their families get together after duty hours.
“The guys and our families hang out to get to know each other,” Ramirez said. “It’s amazing how everyone comes together.”
Ramirez, a family man and infantryman, went from disliking his multiple trades to excelling as a Soldier.
As he fulfills his duties as an infantryman and gunner for the M2A3 Bradley, Ramirez remembers what pushes him to do his best, his family.
| Date Taken: | 08.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.11.2014 16:19 |
| Story ID: | 139003 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Hometown: | YUMA, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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