THE ‘CORPS’ IS FAMILY
The Story of Juan Garcia - USMC – Iraq
By Shannon Robinson
22 years ago, Juan met his wife. Her parents were out of the picture; his parents divorced when he was 11. Juan was attending a Youth Academy run by the Army National Guard. Similar to bootcamp, Juan attended the six-month program in order to get his GED after dropping out of high school as a sophomore. He met her walking down the street, and when he met her, “life was over. I knew ‘uh oh, I’m in trouble.’” She was the one. They soon got married.
Juan graduated in late June 2000. He’d just turned 17 and had to figure out what to do next. He picked up a job at Albertsons, and in the meantime, a Marine Corps recruiter kept knocking on his door. Juan was clear: “I just went to bootcamp for six months; I ain’t doin this shit for real!”
He was from a military family and knew he didn’t want that future. However, he thought about his new wife, and he wanted to get out of the area they were living in. He figured he’d join the reserves, but the recruiter (as they often do) convinced him to go active duty.
Juan shipped out on January 8, 2001.
Juan didn’t join the Marine Corps because he wanted to be a Marine, and after he joined, he realized “this is the dumbest shit I’ve ever done. Why did I do this.” He tried to get a job as a bulk fueler, but he got a call to be in refrigeration mechanic school in Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
However, about a month and a half later, right before school started, the commander pulled him into the office and said “Juan, your ASVABs are too low, you’re too stupid for this school. You’re going down to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. You can go purify water now.”
He spent 3 months learning how to purify water, and then he was sent to a maintenance battalion.
“My MOS was water purification. I’ve never purified water. The nine years I was in the Marine Corps, I never purified water.”
Juan was stationed in Okinawa. Working in a maintenance battalion, his main duty was rebuilding diesel engines out of everything: HUMVs, forklifts, and generators especially. That’s where he was when 9/11 happened. They were in the middle of a typhoon, and he asked his brothers what movie they were watching on TV. The guys told him “no, this is happening in New York City right now!” For the last six months of his yearlong assignment, he worked 15 to 18 hours a day, Sunday through Saturday, rebuilding generators.
After Japan, he was stationed in North Carolina to “swing with the wing.” He agreed because, apparently, he wouldn’t deploy as much. “Man, they sent me to Iraq twice!” he laughed.
A Lance Corporal, he first deployed in 2003 for the invasion. At the FOB, he held a billet for quality control. Fresh off a maintenance battalion, his Chief came up to him and said “you’re going to run maintenance in my shop, and everybody’s going to report to you. You’re the only maintenance guy I have.”
Juan was on the Kuwait/Iraq border. It was a “supplies in, bodies out” type mission. C-130s came in and out on a regular basis. Juan was the youngest Marine out there and was working with all the engineers. He was running generators, refilling generators, and fixing anything that broke. On an Air Force deployment, he was there for four months.
Juan re-enlisted in 2005, and they asked him where he wanted to move. He wanted to move to Dallas and settle in Texas, but soon, they responded “nope! You’re going back to Iraq.” The second deployment, Juan spent 9 months in Al Assad. His mission was to support the flight line, keep the base powered, and ensure the generators were up and running.
Back from Iraq, he asked again about going to Texas, and there was nothing available. His wife asked, “how about Hawaii?” Juan was skeptical and said “you hear about people going to Hawaii, but nobody ever actually gets to go to Hawaii.” So, Juan asked again, and to his surprise, a spot opened up in Hawaii. The catch: he had to reenlist for one more year.
For the last three years he was in the Marines, the Garcia family lived in Hawaii.
After Hawaii, Juan was discharged. After about six months, he got a job at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City to do Electroplating, and he’s been working there for eleven years.
Looking at his time in the Marine Corps, Juan says “We all become family. They instill that into us. We got each other. We’re gonna take care of each other because that’s all we have. Nobody else is gonna help us. Don’t depend on anyone else to help you; you gotta depend on your brother to your left and to your right to take care of you.”
Now it is through his podcast The Stoned Vet where Juan says “hey, you’re not alone” to the other Vets who hate asking for help. Juan tries to give it a Friday night, after work, “where’s the barbecue at?” kind of ambiance. His biggest goal is to break the stigma about cannabis and educate people about natural remedies for pain. He’s passionate about cannabis’s ability to heal a variety of physical and mental wounds, and the benefits it can have for the veteran community instead of the pharmaceuticals the VA prescribes.
Juan also wants to promote veterans and their businesses, and he is a part of the Vetrepreneur tribe. He wants to connect veterans and support and expand the community.
The Stoned Vet has become the No. 1 Marine podcast in the world. Juan has earned a giant, gold Warhammer award to commemorate that status. The next step?
“I’m going to be bigger than Joe Rogan.”
Juan’s show airs every Wednesday and Friday.
Juan is a family man (with seven kids!), a fearless defender of freedom and American values, a Veteran advocate, and above all, a Marine.