by Staff Sgt. Pat Caldwell
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – Long ago, Spc. Christopher Aguilar, a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle driver for Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, was a different man.
Aguilar once weighed more than 300 pounds and was firmly rooted in the life of a Hispanic gang in San Mateo, Calif.
That former life stands in stark contrast to the man who was recently awarded a Purple Heart medal at a ceremony on Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq.
Aguilar and the rest of his MRAP crew encountered an improvised explosive device near Samarra in central Iraq last spring while protecting a logistics convoy.
“It was an honor to receive the Purple Heart,” Aguilar said.
In many ways, Aguilar’s story is one of triumph over adversity. He encountered plenty of chances in his life to take the wrong road but, at key points, chose to go a different route.
“I grew up in a lot of bad areas,” he said. “I was heavily involved in gangs. I’ve seen a lot of bad things, [and] it was rough.”
Aguilar said it was not until he married and his first child was born that he began to reflect on his choices. That was when his wife Angie presented him with an ultimatum.
“She said ‘you choose us, or that [gang] lifestyle,’” he said.
For Aguilar the choice was not an easy one.
“I went to the bathroom and broke down,” he said.
He realized that his responsibility outweighed any desire to continue to be a member of a gang. He also understood that his wife and child represented the future, one without the constant uncertainty connected to the gang lifestyle.
“I had something to live for,” he said.
Not long after he quit the gang life forever, he decided to change his life in another way.
“A good friend was a recruiter. He talked me into [joining the military],” Aguilar said.
Yet, Aguilar still had a long way to go to reach his goal of becoming a soldier and then securing a successful future.
Overweight and grappling with a desire to become a member of the armed forces, he turned to his family for support.
“I have a brother-in-law who was prior service, Rangers. He helped me lose weight,” Aguilar said.
Eventually Aguilar was able to shed the extra weight and enter the military. He said the decision was the right one. The fact his uncles were prior service helped him understand the serious traditions of such military institutions such as the U.S. cavalry.
That sense of cavalry tradition, he said, made his Purple Heart medal that much more significant.
“My family has a long tradition in the cavalry,” he said. “My uncles still wear their Stetsons.”
Aguilar said one of the reasons he volunteered to come on the 3rd Battalion’s deployment was because the unit was cavalry.
He conceded he is a totally different person than the young man who chose to give up the gang lifestyle.
“When people see pictures of me [from the past] still involved in the gang scene they say, ‘No way!’” he said.
Aguilar said while he is eager to return home after the deployment ends, he will also miss his comrades in C Company.
“When we are done with this deployment, it will be weird because they won’t be here,” he said. “They are my brothers, my family.”
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.14.2011 07:06 |
| Story ID: | 75316 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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