Newly appointed chief of AFRS comes home to begin world tour

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Blake Mize
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  When given the choice of a myriad of locations around the globe from which to begin a world tour, one man chose Del Rio and Laughlin Air Force Base.

Command Chief Master Sgt. Ruben Gonzalez was recently appointed as the command chief of Air Force Recruiting Service. With such a title comes the opportunity to visit recruiting stations around the world and Chief Gonzalez chose Del Rio as his starting point.

"One of the challenges was to decide where I should go first. We're talking worldwide. To me, it had to be Del Rio, Texas," said the Chief. "The reason I'm here is to not only meet our superstar recruiter here in Del Rio, but also when I got asked 'Where's your first trip?' the natural thing to do was to come back where I enlisted."

Chief Gonzalez, who is from Eagle Pass, was recruited out of the Del Rio recruiting station in the summer of 1985 by Master Sgt. (ret.) Pete Castillo, now a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp instructor in Eagle Pass.

"I saw something in him that told me he was Air Force material," Castillo said. "He was eager to learn, eager to go places, eager to do whatever it took for him to stay in the United States Air Force."

The Chief and his family arrived at Del Rio's recruiting office the morning of August 19 to a warm welcome by Tech. Sgt. Armando Daniel, Del Rio's Air Force recruiter, and Mr. Castillo, whose presence was a surprise to the Chief.

After a briefing by Sergeant Daniel detailing the area he patrols searching for qualified recruits, the Chief, his family and Sergeant Daniel paid a visit to Del Rio's KTJK radio station to join Jay Gonzalez on his morning show. Many topics were discussed throughout the segment including the Chief's local upbringing, the most interesting places he has traveled and his new job as AFRS command chief.

"I've had the opportunity to serve for 25 years in the Air Force and now I get to help lead our recruiters around the world," said Chief Gonzalez.

After the lively segment during which laughs were shared by all involved, the Chief, his family and Sergeant Daniel proceeded to Del Rio High School's JROTC classroom. There, the Chief spoke to the cadets about his career, the importance of education and the opportunities the Air Force has afforded him. The Chief also stressed the importance of physical fitness and even led the cadets in a set of pushups.

After a visit with Del Rio's mayor and lunch, the Chief then returned to the recruiting office where he was met by the current members of Del Rio's Delayed Enlistment Program, comprised of those waiting to start Air Force basic training. Chief Gonzalez gave the DEP members advice and fielded questions about his experiences throughout his career.

The final stop on the day's agenda was to visit Laughlin, where Chief Gonzalez was stationed at one time, and sit down with members of the local media. Much like the radio show earlier in the day, many topics were discussed including the reason he decided to join the Air Force in the first place.

"In 5th grade I was heading in the wrong direction and my teacher at the time, who was a Vietnam veteran, redirected me. I made a promise to him that I would give back to the country that has given me so much," he said. "I was the first born in the U.S.; the rest of my family is from Mexico. So, I felt I had an obligation to give back to my country through service."

The Chief also spoke about the Air Force's recent force shaping efforts, the cutting of about 6,000 Air Force members to comply with budget constraints, and how it may affect the AFRS's mission.

"If someone is qualified, I would just ask them to stay on top of what they are supposed to be doing because it's just going to be a matter of time before we are able to give them that opportunity," said Chief Gonzalez. "A lot of folks are interested in joining the Air Force right now."

He gave a specific example of a young lady in Del Rio who he had met just that day. She kept trying to join and wanted to be security forces. She ran into complications when trying to get through the Military Entrance Processing Station. It took three tries for her to get through MEPS and after the third try, there was a job opening for security forces and, of course, she took it.

"If you do everything that you need to do, the timing is right and the opportunity is there, that's when it all comes together. When preparation meets opportunity, that's luck," said the Chief. "You never know when it's going to happen."

Chief Gonzalez also talked about his goals and expectations as AFRS's top enlisted member.

"Our actual day-to-day operations are very well taken care of. I feel very honored to be a part of the organization that gives these individuals the opportunity to realize their dreams," he said. "My job is to help the commanding general keep the organization going in the right direction. My goal is basically to support my commander."

"The technical side is taken care of. It is a well-oiled machine from the recruiting portion. But I can still try to bridge the gap and prepare our recruiters for the next level," he said. "From the enlisted perspective, one of the things that we are all chartered is to give folks the opportunity to develop."

Finally, the Chief spoke of how fortunate he has been throughout his career in the Air Force.

"Our leadership in our Air Force is awesome. It really, really is," he said. "Things kind of line themselves up and it's because of great folks that we meet along the way. It didn't matter what level I was at, it seemed like there was somebody looking out for me."