Jesus Retana is a sophomore at West Texas A&M University studying Electrical Engineering. Retana served our country in the United States Marine Corps from the years 2018 to 2023 as an Avionics Technician before he attended WT.
Retana attended Pampa High School about 70 miles north east from the WT campus. In the time between being a student in Pampa and a student at WT, Retana traveled, trained, faced the hardships and challenges that it takes to become an United States Marine.
Retana’s time in the Military started in a unique way when he was 19 years old and attending Pampa High School.
“So there I was in geography class in high school and this recruiter came to give a presentation,” Retana said. “He gave me a piece of paper that if I wanted to I could get more information. I didn’t know I was signing up.”
Retana explained how he had an interest to join the Military but was still deciding at that time. However, what started as somewhat of an accident in time became a good decision and a valuable experience for Retana.
“So I had a conversation with the supervisor from the recruiter station here in Amarillo,” Retana said. ““I said ‘I think this is going too fast, I haven’t processed everything.”
Retana then shared the sentence that was spoken to him by the supervisor of the recruiter station that eventually became his motivation.
“And then he said, ‘I bet you won’t. I bet you don’t have what it takes,’” Retana said. “So, to prove him wrong, I joined out of pure spite. And it’s the best decision I’ve made so far.”
During his time in the Marines, Retana attained the rank of Lance Corporal and was tasked with training the new Marines during COVID. Retana explained the challenges of being in the Military during this unprecedented time.
“I was overseeing the junior Marines. I had to make sure that they got their training right because during COVID, the quality of new Marines was subpar,” Retana said. “They didn’t go through the same training and because of that it was quite difficult for them to adjust to the Fleet. So we had to make sure they were trained to be proper Marines.”
Retana also explained the uncertainty of being in the Military during COVID.
“I was going to be sent to Japan upon my graduation, but COVID happened,” Retana said. “They canceled all the orders for going overseas. All of us had orders to go to Japan.
So all my class got orders for either Cherry Point or Jacksonville, North Carolina.”
Also during Retana’s time in the Marines the Russia-Ukraine War was developing.
“One of my staff sergeants explained it to me, ‘We can go to war at any moment’,” Retana said. ““Our Commanding officer from my unit got all of us together and gave a speech. He said, ‘When we go to war, not if but when, you need to be ready.’”
Retana also talked about a unique aspect of the Military, the many cultures coming together and the qualities that that brings.
“Because a lot of cultures are mixed together,” Retana said. “You learn a lot of things from people from different parts of the United States. And you build such a great network with friends and mentors. You always have that extra family somewhere out there.”
Retana additionally explained the lessons that the Military taught him, which can be reminders for everyone, even those not in the Military.
“To not quit; To keep persevering,” Retana said. “To try different ways. If one way doesn’t work but to keep moving no matter what.”
Retana eventually left the United States Marine Corps in 2023 after being enlisted for five years.
“Because of some injuries I had, I didn’t think I still had it in me to deal with all the physical stuff,” Retana said. “At the time, I thought it was a good idea to just get out to focus and let my body heal.”
Retana followed his initial plan of attending college after the Military. Retana’s cousin attended WT which played a part in his choosing to also be a buff.
“So my cousin, she attended this school,” Retana explained. “So when I talked to her about going to college, she was a great foundation for me to start my search. Because I wanted to study here in the state. But it was hard to find schools that match my criteria and some of them are rude to students. So I’m glad with WT because the moment I submitted my application a couple days later, I had a response from the admissions team with everything I needed to do. They explained everything clear. And if I had questions, they would send me the information or the contact to the person who knew what to do. So that played a huge part in my enrollment here.”
Retana shared what the transition was like from being in the Military and then as a college student.
“So far, it’s been hard,” Retana said. ““The culture is different. I cannot talk freely without the chance of offending someone. So like, dark humor, it’s a huge part of our everyday lives and I think it’s like a coping mechanism to deal with all the stress and anxiety; the depression is really high. “So we could make jokes to each other because we trusted each other. You don’t want to go to war with someone you don’t trust, that doesn’t like you. That happens, but we still have to have a level of trust. And that is something I haven’t gotten yet from college. It’s hard to adjust.”
Retana also shared what it feels like to be older than the usual college sophomore.
“The mentalities are different because most of the students are straight from high school so they haven’t had the experience, they haven’t been in the adult world,” Retana said. “So it’s hard for me to be acting like them. I don’t have that freedom. It is expected from me to be more mature.”
Retana also explained the sad reality and misunderstandings that a lot of veterans face when going back to civilian life.
“I feel like the public doesn’t understand because we have issues, and every time we bring those issues up, they respond with, ‘Well they knew what they were signing up for,’” Retana said. “So our issues get diminished quite a bit by society misunderstanding what we signed up for. We expected issues; we didn’t expected those issues to come from within, from people that are supposed to take care of us.”
The 26-year-old also explained if he had the choice to go back to when he was younger in that geography class, if he would still choose to join the Marines.
“I would, yes,” Retana said. “It’s hard, but it’s rewarding, and it’s something that not a lot of people can do. It was the best and worst time of my life. It’s a love/hate relationship. Because during my time, I learned the best qualities I have, but I also learned what my lowest looks like. I’ve met people that have become family.”
