Jacob Garcia has known about the Army’s mission his entire life.
The quality assurance engineer for the Joint Munitions Command was born at Fort Rucker (known as Fort Novosel since 2023) in Alabama. It was one of 11 locations his father, who spent 20 years wearing an Army uniform, was stationed.
Along the way, Garcia learned the benefits of serving our nation and what it meant.
While attending Florida International University in Miami, Garcia made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps but in a different way. Garcia, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, served as an intern at JMC’s headquarters at the Rock Island Arsenal on two occasions through the command’s Minority College Relations Program, solidifying his trajectory.
“The constant exposure to military and Civilian life showed me the positives that this career could provide,” Garcia said. “The experience I had with MCRP encouraged me that my path towards a Civilian career was correct.”
Garcia, who has been employed at JMC since June 2020, hopes to grow in his Army career. He’s focused on doing so in a few different ways.
“I must develop better leadership abilities, and my skillsets as an engineer,” Garcia said. “I have been participating in our division’s team lead knowledge and skill improvement classes, and I have attended various seminars and classes on leadership.
“For my job, I have been participating in Integrated Product Teams, doing data analysis, and writing reports on various munition items.”
Reporting for work is easy for Garcia because he knows the importance of what he does.
“A motivator for me at work is the mission that we do at JMC,” Garcia said. “I’m motivated to come into work knowing what I’m doing is contributing to something bigger than myself.”
Early in his career, Garcia learned the value of making connections, and it has proven to be highly rewarding.
“An important piece of advice I received early on is to network with the various Civilians and Army staff that you meet,” Garcia said. “Guidance I would give to new employees is to always learn and adapt. People who are successful are the ones who remain curious, acquire new skills, and are open to change and new ideas.”
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