As big as New York City is, with its huge population and layers of culture, it wasn’t enough to contain Felix Figueroa. As a very young man he had a sense there was something beyond the boroughs of the Big Apple awaiting him.
“What got me off of the couch and into the recruiters office,” Figueroa said, was a desire to explore life beyond “the surroundings of the city. I needed to get out of there.”
The Army was a tradition in his family. His father was a Korean War-era veteran, his uncle Tony did two tours of duty with the Army during the Vietnam War and his brother, Edwin Robles, also served in that branch of the Armed Forces.
It was Figueroa’s hope that the Army could transform his life with a career that would produce “something greater than myself, a greater mission.”
Figueroa enlisted in the Army in December 1997, and described his career journey traversed “an unconventional path defined by adaptability and a willingness to take on new challenges.”
During his 23 years of active duty, Figueroa, who resides in Dunkirk with his wife, Damaris, jumped at and into a plethora of opportunities that emerged along the career path.
After completing basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and advanced individual training at Fort Lee in Virginia, Figueroa became a petroleum supply specialist. That’s when he literally jumped into his next Army career experience. Inspired by soldiers wearing the maroon beret of the army paratrooper, Figueroa volunteered for airborne school at Fort Benning, Ga., subsequently serving with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.
When he re-enlisted in 2000, Figueroa was retrained as a public affairs broadcast journalist. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Figueroa was deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom. During the 20-year Global War on Terrorism, he was deployed six additional times to combat zones.
Since retiring with the rank of master sergeant, he has worked in the Washington, D.C. area with the federal government, covering different assignments with the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency and Department of Homeland Security.
Looking back and creating a legacy
Figueroa told Southern Maryland News that his enlistment into the Army with something of an abstract aim “met and exceeded expectations one thousand percent.”
When he enlisted, Figueroa, who was attending classes at a junior college in New York, had a high school diploma. By the time he retired out at Fort Meade, he had a master’s degree and, thanks to the Army, received “a world-class education in several languages.”
Figueroa’s experience in the global venues also gave him an opportunity to cultivate skills in tact and diplomacy.
“Take a moment to learn the culture and language and you will get the mission done,” he said.
Figueroa’s two sons, Miguel and Edwin, have inherited their father’s penchant for taking life and career to a greater level.
Miguel is a career firefighter with Anne Arundel County while Edwin is an airborne infantry ranger assigned to the Ranger Training Battalion at Fort Benning.
Figueroa said Miguel “is thriving” in his career and currently serving with the department’s deep water search and rescue team.
He said Edwin is “doing exceptionally well for himself” as part of the 82nd Airborne.
Figueroa is also leaving his mark in Southern Maryland as the first commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12248 in Chesapeake Beach, which was dedicated this past March.
The post began with 35 members and has exceeded its recruitment goals. The fledgling VFW also had a booth at this year’s Calvert County Fair.
“We represented well,” Figueroa said.