Claudio Garcia-Castro

Ohio Historical Society
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00:00:09 - Introduction

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Segment Synopsis: Claudio Garcia-Castro was born in Matamoros, Mexico in 1970. Garcia-Castro moved to South Vienna, Ohio in 1981 with his parents who relocated for a new job. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1998 specializing as a mechanic. In his interview Garcia-Castro speaks of how his family came to Ohio, going to The Ohio State University, his reasons for joining the Army, and his basic training at Fort Hood in Texas. He discusses how he kept in contact with his wife, going to Bosnia on a peacekeeping mission, working as a mechanic, and learning about the Ohio National Guard.

Keywords: Bosnia; Columbus (Ohio); Fort Hood (Tex.); Matamoros (Coahuila, Mexico); Mechanics; South Vienna (Ohio)

Subjects: Childhood; Deployment to Bosnia; Family; Joining the Army; School

GPS: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Map Coordinates: 43.894612,15.4300409
00:47:18 - Joining the Ohio National Guard and 2nd Deployment

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Segment Synopsis: Garcia-Castro goes directly from active duty with the Army to Officer Candidate School and the Ohio National Guard. He talks about his decision to join the Ohio National Guard and attend Officer Candidate School, his memories of 9/11, how he felt about the possibility of being deployed again, how his family felt, and his pre-deployment training. He explains how the different branches of the Armed Forces come together in the field, what his mission was in Iraq, the differences between Iraq and Bosnia, and what it was like during a mortar attack on Balad Air Base. Garcia-Castro discusses what it was like to manage a maintenance operation, how they reinforced unarmored vehicles, how the National Guard has changed, and what it was like coming back to civilian life.

Keywords: Al Asad Airbase (Iraq); Balad Air Base (Iraq); Kuwait; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001.

Subjects: 9/11; Deploying to Iraq; Officer Candidate School; Ohio National Guard

GPS: Balad Air Base (Iraq)
Map Coordinates: 33.933333, 44.366667
02:12:49 - Staying with the Guard

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Segment Synopsis: Garcia-Castro returns home and makes the decision to work with the Guard full-time. He concludes by recounting the decision to work with the National Guard full-time, what it was like being deployed to Al Asad Air Base, working with contractors, and how he feels about his service.

Keywords: Al Asad Airbase (Iraq); OhioHealth

Subjects: Al Asad Airbase; Reflecting on service; Staying with the Guard

GPS: Al Asad Airbase (Iraq)
Map Coordinates: 33.8, 42.433333