Former Marine finds family in National Guard

Published Nov. 26, 2014
By Staff Sgt. Mary Junell
North Carolina National Guard

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- When Spc. Joseph Gonzalez walked into the North Carolina National Guard Armory to talk to a recruiter about joining the Guard, he was overweight.

The former Marine had already talked to and been turned down by several other recruiters when he asked them about returning to military service after a six year break. Even Sgt. 1st Class William Robertson, the NCNG recruiter in Jacksonville, North Carolina, expressed his doubts.

"He [Robertson] was like - 'wow, there's no way you'll make weight, but, if you come back here next week and you've lost weight, I'll keep working with you,'" said Gonzalez.

With Robertson's mentoring, coaching and support, Gonzalez went back every week a little lighter.

"I couldn't believe it," said Gonzalez, who lost almost 100 pounds in nine months. "He actually took the time and he didn't have to."

Gonzalez, who now serves as an infantryman in A Company, 1-120th Infantry Regiment, spent four years in the Marine Corps and Robertson's willingness to help him is just one example of the way Soldiers in the National Guard take care of each other like family.

"They are my friends. It's different," said Gonzalez. "When you get out of active duty, people are pulled from all across the country and you tend not to see those people again. But I see these guys all the time. I see them at the mall, I see them when I'm at the movies, I see them at a restaurant when I'm out with my wife. To know that they'll always be there and they're in every community around me, it's such an ingrained organization into the fabric of America."

After six years out of the service Gonzalez said he missed the experience and wanted to be part of something bigger.

"That's one of the reasons I joined," said Gonzalez. "I joined for the experience, to be part of something greater, to be in this uniform, with people I know and with family, extended family. I've worked with these guys for the past few months on active duty, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world than with them."

As Gonzalez expressed how he felt about his fellow Soldiers, the rest of his unit sat near him in rows of chairs at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, waiting to get on a plane heading for the CENTCOM region where they will deploy in support of Operation Spartan Shield.

This will be his third deployment. The previous two being Iraq in 2005 and 2007 while he served in the Marine Corps.

"We're doing something bigger than what we do normally," said Gonzalez. "Outside of this mission I'm just Joseph Gonzalez, who fell on some hard times. I work a full-time job and a part time job to keep things together. But here, I'm Gonzo, everybody loves me and life is simple. And as much as I miss my family, I'm doing this for everyone. I'm doing this for my friends, my community, my country and my family."

Gonzalez lives near his unit in Jacksonville and he is proud of the fact that being in the N.C. Guard means he can not only support federal missions like the deployment to CENTCOM, but that he can make a difference in his community as well.

"The guard experience in itself is unique," said Gonzalez. "I've done state missions and it is a privilege to serve not just your country, but your community and actually help out people. I couldn't put a value on that. It is different than going and patrolling the streets of Iraq like I did. To see the amount of vested interest that the state has in protecting its people, it's quite a site to see."

"We, the Guard are your neighbors," said Gonzalez. "They're the people you see every day and you can't beat that."