Kristian Menchaca - Military Career

Military Career

Menchaca scored so highly on the ASVAB test, that he was given the option of forgoing service in the infantry. However, he declined and insisted on becoming an infantryman. In March 2005, Menchaca enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman, with the intention of becoming a U.S. Border Patrol agent someday. Assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, Menchaca married Christina Menchaca of Big Springs, Texas in September 2005, without informing his family; one month before deploying to Iraq in October 2005. Before deploying to Iraq, Menchaca told his uncle, Mario Menchaca, "Uncle Mario, don't worry. I'm going to come back as a hero."

Menchaca deployed to Iraq, and returned home for a brief stay in early May 2006. His family noticed changes in his lifestyle, noting that he was "nervous" and "jittery", suffered from insomnia, and took up chain smoking, despite having never smoken before. Being matter-of-fact, Menchaca informed his family of the hardships he had to endure as a soldier in wartime, sleeping in vacant buildings without running water, plumbing, or electricity, and about how he and his fellow soldiers shared batteries to run electrical equipment. Menchaca spent time with his relatives, his mother, his brother, his cousins, aunts and uncles.

Menchaca returned to Iraq in mid-2006. During his time in Iraq, he told his family that although life as a U.S. Army soldier in Iraq was difficult, that he was still happy and satisfied with his career choice. Through phone calls, Menchaca told his family that there had been an attack on his unit during the night and that he'd barely made it out with his life. Menchaca told them that he several other soldiers had lost their clothes and belongings, which had burned in a fire, leaving Menchaca only with his military uniform. Through phone calls, Menchaca also told his family that he had been knocked unconscious after a car bomb detonated, which worried his relatives. During this time, Menchaca asked his family to send him care packages, in the form of clothes, wet wipes, soap, and Oreo cookies, which he was especially fond of.