Staff Sergeant Joel Gonzalez

Ask Staff Sergeant Joel Gonzalez what the soldiers he has led would say about him, and he doesn't hesitate. A hard charger. Never quits. Never backs down from a challenge.

Then he gets to the part that matters most to him. They would say he cares about them.

Gonzalez has worn the uniform for thirteen years — the first five in the Army Reserve, the last eight on active duty. Today he serves at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, with the Army's Arctic airborne cavalry and infantry units.

Those years have carried him through more training rotations than he can count, and through joint international exercises alongside soldiers from partner and host nations.

The schools on his record say a lot about the soldier he set out to be. He is a graduate of the Army's Airborne School, the Cold Weather Leaders Course and the Basic Military Mountaineer Course. Jumping from aircraft. Leading in the cold. Moving soldiers through the mountains.

He has led soldiers as a team leader, a squad leader and a platoon sergeant.

And through all of it, he has held on to something that is easy to lose in a hard job:

"I always try to make every moment something fun even when it sucks."

In work that asks this much of people, that is no small thing.

Staff Sergeant Gonzalez — thank you for your service.

Years of service: 13 (5 Army Reserve, 8 active duty) · Hometown: Sauk Village, Illinois