Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mauricio Garcia, a Black Hawk pilot assigned to the Security Assistance Commandâs Fort Bragg-based training unit, the Security Assistance Training Management Organization, was born in MedellÃn, Colombia.
Now, in a military career spanning more than 20 years and the armies of two countries, Garciaâs career has serendipitously come full circle.
Part 1 recap
Garcia grew up dreaming about flying, but knew his parents could not afford flight school. At 16, he enrolled in a military officer academy, hoping to join the Colombian Army as an aviator.
That never happened. Instead, he became an infantry officer, leading soldiers in the fight against insurgents in the rugged jungles of Colombia for months at a time.