Photo By Staff Sgt. Jerry Zuetrong | U.S. Army Reserve Soldier Spa. Bradley Rangel, a 68E Dental Specialist with the 491st...... read more read more
FORT BELVOIR, Va. — For Spc. Bradley Rangel, serving as an Army Reserve dental specialist and studying theoretical physics and mechanical engineering represent two different areas of his life, but his plans for the future could bring the two closer together.
Rangel, a 68E dental specialist assigned to the 491st Medical Company Area Support in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a down trace unit of the 807th Theater Medical Command of Salt Lake City, was completing annual training at Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir while continuing to work toward degrees that could eventually influence both his civilian and military careers.
A student at the University of New Mexico, Rangel is pursuing a double major in mechanical engineering and theoretical physics, along with a minor in advanced mathematics.
For Rangel, engineering and physics provide complementary ways of understanding not only how something is built, but why materials and systems behave the way they do.
“Really, just a deep understanding of how to build something and the reasons behind why you would build something,” Rangel said.
His path into Army dentistry was not originally planned.
Rangel initially intended to enter active duty and train as an AH-64 Apache helicopter repairer. He instead decided to attend college and enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. After receiving a scholarship, he needed to select a military occupational specialty compatible with Army Reserve service and chose dental specialist so he could complete training and return in time for the school semester.
Although dentistry and theoretical physics may appear to occupy different professional fields, Rangel said his studies have helped him recognize areas where engineering principles intersect with dental medicine.
One example is materials science, a discipline associated with engineering that examines the properties and applications of materials. Rangel pointed to composites, ceramics, metals and other materials as examples of how engineering principles can apply across different industries, including dentistry.
That technical interest may eventually shape the next stage of his Army Reserve career.
Rangel said he intends to remain in the Army Reserve through retirement but is considering changing his military occupational specialty to 68A, biomedical equipment specialist. The specialty interests him because its technical requirements could allow him to apply more of what he is learning through his engineering coursework.
“You do use a lot of circuit analysis,” Rangel said, describing what he has learned about the biomedical equipment specialty. “I would be really good at that. I've had to take numerous classes in that.”
The possibility illustrates how continued education and military service can develop along parallel tracks. While his current role provides experience supporting Army medicine, his university studies are expanding the technical knowledge he hopes to apply to future positions.
Rangel is also considering commissioning after completing his education, although he has not made a decision. He said he has approximately three years remaining at the university and two and a half years remaining on his current Army Reserve contract.
Outside the Army, Rangel hopes his education could lead to work at a national research laboratory. He identified Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico as potential destinations and said engineering provides opportunities across a wide range of research fields, including energy and large-scale scientific computing.
His ambitions in physics extend beyond the United States.
Rangel said he would also like the opportunity to work at international research facilities such as CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider, or at other facilities conducting research in emerging areas of physics.
For now, those goals remain part of a longer path that includes completing his education while continuing his Army Reserve service.
Whether Rangel eventually remains in dental medicine, transitions into biomedical equipment, commissions or pursues another Army specialty, he said leaving the Army Reserve is not currently part of his plan.
“I don't plan on ever getting out of the Army Reserves,” Rangel said. “I do intend on retiring from the Army Reserves.”
His continued military service and pursuit of advanced education demonstrate how professional development can extend beyond a Soldier's current military occupational specialty, allowing civilian education, Army experience and future career opportunities to develop together.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.14.2026 14:30 |
| Story ID: | 572407 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | RIO RANCHO, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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