by Lorine Parks
In honor of the upcoming Veteran’s Day. Mario Guerra shared with us his experiences in becoming an Assistant Aide to the Secretary of the Army. “It’s been one of the biggest things in my life,” Mario said.
How awesome it is that Mario, the Treasurer of the California Republican Party, could be appointed by a Democrat, President Obama; and that a Cuban refugee who as a young boy participated in one of the first Freedom Flights, “los vuelos de la libertad,” from Havana to Miami, could now be a U. S. citizen in such an important position. It’s the great American Melting Pot at its best.
On January 9, 2017, Mario was invested, joining 108 other Aides, and one of only three from California. “I was happy I could share it with my wife,” he said, “when we made the trip to Washington.” The volunteer civilian job is for a two year term, renewable for ten years, and has the equivalency rank of one star general.
Mario showed us a picture of himself visiting Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, home of the combat medics; Ft. Bragg in North Carolina, home of the airborne warrior, the paratrooper, and special ops; and Ft. Irwin here in California. Ft. Irwin is located in 1,000 square miles in the Mojave Desert which provide realistic joint and combined arms training. Mario flew there by Black Hawk helicopter taking off from Los Alamitos, to witness the training program which prepares troops for the Global War on Terrorism, with simulated villages in combat zones. “I am completely impressed to see what goes on,” Mario said. The Army pays for Mario’s travel, but he has chosen to serve without compensation, having waived that when he was sworn in.
Mario gave us bits of history too – “the Army is older than the country it serves: in 1775 the Continental Congress authorized an Army.” We didn’t even have a president yet, but George Washington was chosen as commanding general. The Army is this country’s second largest employer: Walmart is first. And the former Cavalry is now the Tank corps.
There are 1.4 million troops in the Army, 314,000 active and the rest in the Reserve. The hierarchy of units in the Army is, from top to bottom, the Corps, the Division, the Brigade, the Battalion, the Company, the Squad (composed of four to 10 soldiers); the Foot Soldier, and the Trooper.
On the administrative side, the Department is led by civilian Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarty, who was plucked from domestic tranquility by Secretary of Defense James Mattis to serve. McCarthy in the Pentagon is the one to whom Mario reports. The leading military figure is the Chief of Staff, the highest serving 4 star general. He is the one who represents the Army on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And the Sergeant Major, a position filled by the ranking enlisted man. “The Sergeant Major is who you go to when you want the job done,” said Mario. “He executes the orders.”
When being questioned for confirmation by Congress, Mario said, Secretary McCarthy was asked, “What is your biggest fear?” His answer was “You, the congress.” Mario then shared that is because Congress is stalling on voting for a Budget, and if one has not been adopted by December 1, there will be no funds to meet the payrolls.
Army assignments are first, to be prepared to militarily defend; second, to build infrastructure such as bridges and roads. It also maintains Arlington National Cemetery and assists in civilian disasters. In the recent catastrophe in Santa Rosa, 400 troops fought fires alongside the civilian Fire Departments.
The Army’s three goals are: readiness to deter war and protect the security of our country, providing ground forces for American military operations; to plan for the future; and maintaining the force as all-volunteer, which it has been since the 1970’s.
Mario’s mission is to tell communities about what the Army does. It used to be that officers received an engineering education, while enlisted men learned how to dig ditches. Now the Army offers over 150 paths to careers which are translatable to civilian life. Benefits include the G I Bill, which offers many perks to veterans, from tuition grants to zero-down-payment mortgages.
Mario plans a Downey Military Day, with all branches of the armed services invited, and the participation of the Downey Unified School District, Downey’s Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and others.
At the conclusion of his speech, Mario asked any veterans to stand, and Angelo Cardono, our only veteran from WW II, rose. So did Harold Tseklenis, who served a decade later; Jorge Montero, and Jim Reynolds (this reporters apologies to any she missed). Mario shook each one’s hand, and presented each with a medallion with the red and white stripes of our flag blazoned on it, marked from the office of “the Honorable Mario Guerra, Aide to the Secretary of the Army.”