CSM (R) Carlos Martinez

CSM (R) Carlos Martinez sat down with me for Heroes I Know. The Jackal. The name came out of a Patriot unit in the seventies. He still signs off with it.

Third of the Fourth from 1980 to 1986. Then 1990 to 1994. A lot of time in Bravo. Alpha Battery first sergeant on the second hitch. The battalion had priority. He had Korea assignments cancelled because there were so few airborne-qualified air defense NCOs. Branch kept him at Bragg. That was cool until you realized you were not going anywhere else.

What they did special was grow their own NCOs. You had to volunteer to keep staying. One cycle and leave, or stay and become the people who made that battalion. The officers were good. The NCOs they grew were the difference.

Germany later. A Patriot battalion he knew nothing about. Three years. High-altitude air defense. Then the jump. Two teammates. Like any other jump until it was not. He still tells it. That is the chair. That is the point.

A great guy. A great mentor. Thank you, Sergeant Major. That is why we hit record. Get the story on tape before we are too old or too sick to tell it.