FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Things stay busy at Fort Campbell Garrison Headquarters. To look after the well-being of the Soldiers and Families of such a large installation is no easy feat. But it is exactly the type of environment in which Command Sgt. Maj. Gabriel A. Espinosa Jr., the garrison command sergeant major, thrives. It is a work ethic that has been with him throughout his 27-year military career.
"My dad arrived in America one day, the next day he had a job at a factory," Espinosa said. "He's in his 70s now and he still works. I think part of my drive I get from him. You got to do something, so I keep working. And I enjoy what I do."
The American dream
Espinosa's father made the journey to America at the age of 23, leaving Colombia to start a new life with his 21-year-old bride.
"I ended up being born in the Bronx, a few blocks away from Yankee Stadium," Espinosa said. "I think it was pretty bold of them to move from one country to another the way they did."
In many ways, Espinosa was a typical New York boy, rooting for the Giants, Yankees, Knicks and the Rangers. His first taste of adversity came when he was old enough to begin going to school.
"My parents didn't speak English, so when I first went to school, neither did I," he said. "I went to kindergarten not speaking any English. Talk about some awkward moments."
For his job, Espinosa's father had to learn English, and his son quickly followed suit. Helping him along was American television. As a young boy, he saw footage of a nation at war in the jungles of Vietnam.
"I remember watching the Soldiers on television and thinking 'I want to be that guy,'" Espinosa said.
A career of service
Espinosa's boyhood ambitions came to fruition when he was 21.
"I started later than some," he said. "I thought, 'I'm not really doing anything, so let me try this out.' And I've never looked back."
Once he decided to become a Soldier, he dove into the task full force, with assignments that have taken him to Hawaii, Korea, the New York City Recruiting Command, Fort Bragg (where he met Vanessa, his wife of 26 years) and many others. When he began life as a Soldier, he discovered an aptitude for running -- an aptitude he has passed on to his son Miguel, a high school senior.
Throughout his assignments, Espinosa completed Jumpmaster School, Air Assault School and earned a Masters Degree in business administration. When his career reached the 20-year mark, he briefly considered retirement.
"I was real busy in Fort Bragg as a Rear D sergeant major for a brigade," Espinosa said. "It was 16-hour days, six, seven days a week. I thought, 'Yeah, it's time to retire.' Then I got an email asking if I wanted to do ROTC instead, and that just changed the course of where I was going. Here it is, seven plus years later from when I was supposed to retire."
It was a decision well-met by his Family, save for one.
"My mom's been telling me 'You gotta get out' since I first joined the Army," Espinosa laughed. "I told her 'I'm enjoying it, why would I get out?' She says 'But they could send you to war!' Well if I go, I'll know what I'm doing."
In the past, Espinosa has been asked to serve as a guest speaker for events in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. While in touch with is cultural roots, he admits that his point of view is a bit more straightforward.
"I consider myself a Hispanic American, but I consider myself more as simply an American," he said. "I'm proud of what Hispanics have done over the years, but I don't see the world as 'black, white, Hispanic.' I see it as 'Can you get this job done?' That's what's important."
Deciding what comes next
Espinosa has been at Fort Campbell for 15 months and counting, working to maintain balance at an installation that is home to the most highly deployed Army units.
"We've got people all over the place," he said. "There's constant movement. We're supporting the Families while everybody's gone with all of the services we provide as garrison. We want to make Fort Campbell the best Soldier and Family experience."
The Kentucky-Tennessee area has grown on Espinosa and his Family; so much so that it is high in the running for places to live when he retires -- whenever that may be.
"I still haven't thought much about what I'm going to do," he said. "I know I'm closer to the end than I am the beginning or the middle. But I know that we like it here. We've met a lot of good people here."
Social Sharing