SGT Barraza, Jesus

04/23/2026

This friendship started back in mid 2018 when this girl was a little Private First Class, fresh out of training, and barely starting her adult life. Shortly after we found ourselves training and preparing to head to the Middle East. What a great time and what great memories we all made there. One thing never changed though, and that was this girls commitment to her studies.

Now she holds her bachelor degree, went to Federal Officer Candidate School, and is now a 2nd Lieutenant in the Arizona Army National Guard!

Couldn’t be more proud of the person you’ve become! From that little private you were to this grown adult crushing things! I know it wasn’t easy for you and you had your own roller coaster throughout it all, but in the end your persistent attitude to achieve what you want has lead you to this day! Go continue doing great things!

It was an honor being your first salute! From CPL Barraza and PFC Paz to now SFC Barraza and 2nd LT Paz! God has definitely blessed us and many more to come!

Just remember one thing my mentor always says “mission first, soldiers always”! 🫡

01/14/2026

Choices are yours

12/20/2025

On December 19th, the Recruiting and Retention Battalion held its annual End of Year Awards Banquet! It was a blessing to be recognized for different awards and for the hard work we put in this year!

This was Alaiah’s first banquet and of course she got her turn to go up on stage with dad to get an award! FY25 was my first year back to recruiting since being away for a year and I had a goal to meet and I’m going to just say..mission accomplished!

Thank you to the man up above for giving me the strength, courage, resiliency, capabilities and opportunity to be in this position to change lives and generations to come!

To my wife who supports me through the early mornings, long days, long weekends and the constant phone calls, I appreciate you! You are the one who enables me to reach the success I reach on a daily basis.

For my girls, I hope you are learning as time goes on that nothing in this world is given, it’s earned. You earn it everyday that you show up, you work hard, and you have a good attitude. I do this for you girls to lead by example and to show you that anything is possible if you put in the work.

To my family, thank you for supporting me and my family on the days you help in anyway you can. Sometimes even just helping me chill out and enjoy some good company helps me reset and continue to push.

To the Soldiers of the RRB, you know who you are, thank you for the talks, the support and the constant encouragement to push to be the best version we can be! To my boy SFC Wait, iron sharpens iron, I appreciate you! 🙏🏼 SSG Munoz, congrats on the top recruiter of the state and title of D54! You said you would, and you did it!

To all the recruits and the families that trusted me to help you start your careers, thank you! You all are the future of our military and it is great to see you all accomplishing the things we’ve talked about!

Lastly, I just want to say…GRACIAS! Gracias por aquellos que han hablado mal de mí gracias por aquellos que preguntan más por mí 🫡🙏🏼🏆

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12/14/2025

Today during A Co RSP drill we had a few surprise guest! Today Snowy & Angel (my daughters elves) came to work on an adventure and my girls came to see what shenanigans their elves were up too!

Angel & Snowy helped White Phase warriors learn Land Navigation in the classroom and helped Blue Phase warriors make sure all their paperwork was ready for them to ship to Basic Combat Training! My daughters made sure to make it known that they would help them get stronger by doing some push ups 💪🏼

After this the got bored and started wondering around our base! They started by showing what concealment looks like during Force on Force training and then tried joy riding in a HUMVEE! Good thing they can’t reach the pedals and couldn’t get far 😂

Needless to say that it was a successful drill weekend! Glad my girls came out in their summer PTs and were able to get some steps in with dad 🫡

07/31/2025

Heres to another 3 years of service! Today I extended my military obligation by another 3 years to continue service in the Arizona Army National Guard! It’s crazy how many people I have helped with enlisting this year that I’ve actually memorized the oath of enlistment!

Thank god for these years of memories and for this great memory to extend in Puerto Rico!

Thanks to my wife, my biggest supporter who always pushes me to better! Without your love and support I wouldn’t know where I’d be! To my beautiful daughters, I do this for you! To give you a life worth living!

To my mentors and peers, let’s continue to make State 48 great! I appreciate everyone who has impacted my growth as a Soldier, leader, and man!

“This We’ll Defend, Til The End!”

06/27/2025

Please help me welcome a new member of the Arizona Army National Guard, PVT Albarado, Reyna!
Reyna enlisted as a Combat Engineer (12B) and will be serving along side her best friend Daniela in the same unit here in Arizona!
Reyna enlisted to honor her grandfather who served in the Air Force and to be able to continue her education and become a realtor! From what I seen on the basketball court, hard work in her employment, to the day she committed to start the process, I can tell this soldier will not back down from anything and knows that if she puts her mind to it, she can accomplish anything!
I’m excited to see what you accomplish Reyna!

05/24/2025

05/21/2025

Congratulations to my sassy, full of light and energy daughter Matilde for graduating Kindergarten! You amazed us this year by being recognized three out of the four quarters and finishing your report card with “outstanding” all the way across!
Continue being a student of growth and learning everyday that you can!

03/30/2025

Today I was given the greatest opportunity to pin my little sister the rank of Sergeant and welcome her to the NCO Corps! This is a huge accomplishment and I am so proud of her! My sister was my first enlistment as a National Guard recruiter and she was the first person in my career that I have ever pinned! Her constant determination to better herself and learn to be uncomfortable has helped her flourish to the person she is today! Like I told you before, don’t ever try and live up to my expectation, create and set your own. All I ever ask is that you always give 100%. As you become a leader always remember to show humility, be humble, remember where you came from and where you want to go, and lastly don’t ever be afraid failure!

Welcome to the back bone of the Army! Set the standard and be the standard and lead by example!

“This We’ll Defend”

03/01/2025

🚨Soldier Spot Light🚨

Today .ea_ competed in the Norwegian Footmarch at Intelligence Analyst Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and received her foreign award! This is a huge accomplishment for a young soldier who has yet to surprise me in her capabilities and drive!
The Norwegian Footmarch consist of a 18.6 mile ruck march with a 24lb rucksack in under 4hrs and 50mins! PFC McWhirter completed it in 4hrs and 29mins! This definitely test your physical and mental limitations and she was able to not only pass but crush it for her group standard!
The best part she was able to accomplish this with her brother who is also in the National Guard!
Great work PFC McWhirter! Way to represent yourself and the Arizona Army National Guard and Alpha Company RSP!