Photo By Staff Sgt. Brandy Herrmann | U.S. Army Sgt. Samantha Carrillo swings her daughter in the air as they celebrate the...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - U.S. Army Sgt. Samantha Carrillo is someone who looks like anyone else. She is the person in the car next to you, stuck on the highway in rush hour traffic. She is the mom you see holding her daughter’s hand as she walks through the store. She is the soldier you thank for her service. Carrillo is a woman who has spent the better part of her adulthood in the U.S. Army and now uses those hard lessons learned to her education, friendships and parenthood.
“I was in college for about a year after high school, before I joined the Army in 2016,” Carrillo said. “When I joined, I did the Buddy Program with my cousin. We were both kind of like, ‘Do you want to get out of El Paso?’ So, we went to the recruiter and said sign us up. The Buddy Program made it so we could go to basic training and our first duty station together.”
At the age of 19, Carrillo arrived to her first duty assignment at Bravo Company, 82nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan., ready to tackle her newest life endeavor as a combat engineer.
“When I joined, [combat engineers] had just opened for females. So, I was really excited,” she exclaimed. “Within the first year of being at [Fort] Riley, we did a rotation to Europe. It was a learning experience because they really simulated a war environment. I appreciated the experience.”
However, what Carrillo remembers most is how close her organization became during the rotation.
“I prefer to be out there because it feels more family-orientated,” she stated. “When we’re out there, you know, all day, every day together, we learned each other’s habits. We learned a lot more about each other because we only had each other. I think it made us closer when we got back, and we really looked out for each other.”
Upon her return to the U.S., Carrillo was beginning to look at her future beyond serving her country. While she had a deep appreciation for combat engineers, she was not sure how that would play into her overall life plans. She decided to become a human resources specialist, something she could see herself doing outside of the U.S. Army. Following her job change, Carrillo moved onto her second duty assignment at Osan Air Force Base, South Korea.
“Getting stationed in Korea was amazing. My unit was super family-orientated. They made accommodations for those who had family and kids there,” Carrillo said. “They were also really involved in the culture. They would participate in the local holidays and celebrations. I really enjoyed that.”
Spending time celebrating with people who felt like family made Carrillo miss her biological family. She says even though she joined to get away from El Paso, she felt it was time to go home. Thankfully for Carrillo, the U.S. Army was able to provide her with options to accommodate her personal wishes.
“I was away for like five years, and I could’ve gone somewhere else, but I missed my family. I missed my mom’s cooking,” she stated. “They gave me the option to do a home base assignment, which is where they try to get you an assignment close to your home. I was lucky that I’m from El Paso, so I could get stationed at Fort Bliss.”
Little did Carrillo know, being close to her family would become essential as she became pregnant shortly after arriving back home.
“The biggest change [in my life] other than joining the Army was having my daughter,” Carrillo said with a smile. “She’s my world, and my number one priority now. And being here, with my family and my daughter’s father ten minutes down the road, I have a lot of support. My mom babysits when we both have to work, and when she can’t, my daughter’s other grandmother watches her.”
Being a co-parent and juggling it with being a soldier has been no easy feat, but she works diligently on maintaining good communication with her daughter’s father. More so, they discuss the future and what happens if the U.S. Army stations her somewhere else.
“We talk every day. We talk about how she’s doing or if either of us have concerns or scheduling issues. We also just try to Facetime so we can always be part of her life, even when we can’t be there in person,” Carrillo said. “I can’t predict where the Army is going to send me next. But we do talk about if he would try to move jobs and come with us if I can’t stay close. It’s an ongoing discussion, but we just have to see where the Army wants me next.”
As for her life plans, Carrillo says she hopes to stabilize at Fort Bliss to restart her college education and move onto the next chapter of her life. She is trying to leverage every asset the U.S. Army offers for personal growth and education.
“My boss has been mentoring me little by little regarding going to school,” Carrillo said. “He talks to me a lot about enrolling back into El Paso Community College and how to transfer my Army training into college credits. It could also help me stabilize here. Every day I change my mind on what I want to do, but I think I want to finish out my contract and get out so my daughter and I can to stay close to our family.”
Despite not knowing exactly what the future holds, Carrillo looks back on her past seven years of service fondly. She appreciates the values that have become instilled in her and how she can use them for the rest of her life.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself, made a bigger family than the one I originally had, and seen some really cool places,” Carrillo said. “But more than anything, I wouldn’t have my daughter and I’ll always be grateful to the Army for being part of our journey. The Army isn’t right for everybody, but the Army has definitely been right for me.”
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2023 12:39 |
| Story ID: | 439409 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A soldier’s journey through sacrifice and triumph, by SSG Brandy Herrmann, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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