One in a series highlighting service members assigned to the Exchange.
Who he is: Air Force Staff Sgt. Marco Gomez, NCOIC, Corporate Communication and Brand Marketing, HQ
Years of experience: Gomez enlisted in March 2017. He has worked for the Exchange since August.
Why he joined the Air Force: “I was going to school at Northwest Vista, which is a community college in San Antonio, and working full time,” Gomez said. “I was paying for school out of pocket, and I eventually ran out of money. My mom suggested that I enlist in the Air Force. I looked into it, looked into the benefits. That was the main driving force behind going in—but I stayed in because I love it.
“The first team I worked with at Laughlin AFB, we developed a good friendship. Seeing how many brave people are out there and being part of the same team, that’s what made me decide to stay.”
Memories of Exchange support: Before he joined the Air Force, most of what Gomez knew about the military came from a cousin who was in the Army.
“I didn’t have a whole lot of knowledge, so my big intro to the military was Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB,” he said. “You’d go to the mini-mall and get your necessities. I had never been to a mini-mall before and I was thinking, ‘This is available for us?’ Just seeing everything that was there as an option for us a trainees, it made me feel like I was at home.”
When the photo bug bit: Working in public affairs for the Air Force and now the Exchange, Gomez writes articles, press releases and communication plans, and has photographed for social media and Air Force productions. His favorite part of the job is photography—which he didn’t even really get into until 2017.
“When I first came into the Air Force, I was in the Delayed Entry Program,” he said. “I was in for about eight months, waiting for a call from an Air Force recruiter. The first time he called, he had an offer that didn’t appeal to me. But the next week he called again and said he had an opening for photojournalism. I said, ‘What is that?’ He said, ‘Well, you go out and take pictures and experience different jobs.’ I said, ‘Sign me up. That sounds really cool.’
“I had no photo experience before that,” he continued. “Learning everything from the bottom up was really, really hard for me. Luckily, I’ve had great mentors who have helped me through my career.”
(You can view some of Gomez’s photography here.)
A memorable assignment: “The cool part of working in Air Force public affairs is that you get to go out and highlight missions,” Gomez said. “I’ve never deployed, but I have gone out on some cool missions. One of my favorite was an Air Combat Command exercise going on in South America. I specifically went to Peru for Resolute Sentinel.
“I was able to go out there for about three weeks and highlight what was going on with SERE [Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape] and work with Peruvians. Our Coast Guard worked with their Coast Guard, some of our Air Force doctors helped out in their hospital.”
Learning about the Exchange: “I’ve only been here a few months, but I’ve learned a lot about what the Exchange is and the benefits,” Gomez said. “In September, I was at Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference with [Strategic Marketing Manager] Chris Provan. I learned a lot from him about what the BX does and what community outreach programs do.
“Before I took this Exchange job, I didn’t know this role existed,” he added. “It’s great figuring it out from the bottom up. Seeing it from this side and what we’re trying to communicate is pretty cool.”
Family serving family: “I see the Exchange as another way to serve,” Gomez said. “Sometimes it’s just being a face for other Airmen and for Soldiers and Guardians—letting them see that there are uniformed people at the Exchange and that it’s not just a retail business. We give back. 100% of what we make, we give back, and it helps military community members do things they want to do. It’s good to be that face and bridge that gap.”
Leave a Reply