Combative competitor

Photo By Jacob Boyer | Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Gonzalez, a retention and transition non-commissioned officer with 8th Battalion, Army Reserve Careers Division, runs toward a bunker, July 16, on the second part of the hand grenade qualification course at the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wis. Gonzalez is a Yonkers, N.Y., native.  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

07.18.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Jacob Boyer 

U.S. Army Reserve Command

FORT McCOY, Wis. - People come into their passions and hobbies through many different means. A retention and transition non-commissioned officer competing in the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition found his when he took an Army class.

Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Gonzalez, representing the Army Reserve Careers Division July 15-20 at Fort McCoy, Wis., said he got into Brazilian jiujitsu after taking Army Modern Army Combatives level one.

“I just fell in love with it and wanted to follow up with more training,” said Gonzalez, who first joined the Army Reserve in 2000. “There aren't many units that do continuous training with it, so I figured if I wanted to get good, I'd have to do my own training. I did some research and found a good school.”

Gonzalez said he trains six to eight hours each week and enters competitions when they don't interfere with his official duties as a full-time reservist with ARCD. After only two years in the discipline, he has placed at a few competitions and won once.

“They always fall on battle assembly weekends, and I have to support my units,” said the Yonkers, N.Y., native. “But if the opportunity arises and it doesn't conflict, I take advantage and go to a competition.”

In addition to his endeavor in hand-to-hand combat, Gonzalez is eight hours shy of earning a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also worked as an assistant to the director of the Spanish Department there before becoming a full-time Soldier. He said the university has been supportive of his Army Reserve career.

“As long as I inform my professors of my drill schedule, I've never had a problem getting support. What I usually do is get my work done before battle assembly comes,” he said. “It's kind of like a working relationship; you have to give a little to get a little.”

Before taking on his current duties, Gonzalez served as a technical engineer specialist. He said he wants to remain full-time after his time as a career counselor ends. He also wants to use the experience he gained from two deployments – Iraq in 2004 and Afghanistan in 2008 – and this competition to train Soldiers. He said the competition prompted him to strengthen his Soldier skills.

“The competition isn't about being the best at everything,” he said. “You have to know so many different tasks. It takes a lot of training, study and practice. There are a lot of little tasks that don't come up for [part-time] Soldiers regularly.”

Gonzalez is married to Amy Garza, and they have a daughter, Allie. He said a drive to be better than average has pushed him to this level of competition.

“Failure is not in my creed. I refuse to accept mediocrity,” he said. “It's unacceptable, especially in today's Army. We're downsizing and we want the best. I felt a need to prove to myself and my superiors that

I'm not just some average Joe who's trying to collect a paycheck.
Whether he is named the Army Reserve's NCO of the Year or not, Gonzalez said he takes pride in making it this far.

• Date Taken: 07.18.2012
• Date Posted: 07.18.2012 17:18
• Story ID: 91765
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US