By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The professions chosen by Jordan Garza’s children gives their dad an immense source of pride – and occasional sleepless nights.
Last week, the Perrysburg family was honored by the Bowling Green Army Recruiting Center for service to the country by Jordan Garza and four of his sons.
The recognition was presented to Garza “for your family’s unwavering support and service for the freedom of our nation through supporting the enlistments of your four sons in the U.S. Army. Families like yours are the bedrock of our country.”
Of course having multiple children in the service at once means getting them all together is rare. So during the recognition, Garza’s wife, Ashley, held an iPad linked in to three of the boys.
“It was surreal,” Jordan Garza said. “It was a mix of emotions. I was very, very proud.”
The mix of emotions is due to unrest in the world and the heightened risk of military service members being put in harm’s way.
“There’s uncertainty with what tomorrow looks like,” Garza said.
The sons present through the iPad were Isaac Garza, who was recently deployed to Poland; Drew Garza, who recently returned to the states from Poland; and Jayden Agnew, who just returned from deployment in Kuwait.
Attending in person was Garza’s son, Elijah, who is enrolled in the ROTC program at Bowling Green State University.
“As a U.S. Army veteran, I supported each of my sons, Drew, Jayden, Isaac, and Elijah in their decision to enlist in the United States Army. Their purpose went beyond the call to defend our freedoms, our Constitution, and our country, but to carry on a family tradition of public service,” their dad said.
Garza, now with the Department of Homeland Security, and his wife, Ashley, a medical professional, have inspired their seven children to make a difference through service. None were pushed toward military service, but rather were pulled by desire to serve as their parents, Garza said.
Their oldest child, Drew, talked to a recruiter at school – unbeknownst to his parents. He came home and told his parents that he was enlisting.
“I had no idea it was coming,” Jordan Garza said.
Isaac and Jayden followed that path as well, both serving in the Army. Elijah began talking about enlisting in the Army when he was in seventh grade. His freshman year in high school, Elijah sought out the recruiter visiting his school – but was told he was too young to make that commitment. He persisted, and is now in ROTC.
The couple’s daughters are also pursuing careers in public service. Ariana is moving forward in the hiring process to work with customs and border control, and Morgan wants to pursue her education.
Their youngest son, Roman, has no intention of being left out. At age 5, aspiring to follow in his brothers’ footsteps, he began asking, “Dad, when do I get to go to basic training?”
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Garza said.
Garza’s own military career came to an end when he sustained a severe spinal cord injury during a training exercise. He had surgery in 2010 to repair three fractured vertebrae and two discs.
“I was devastated. It ended my military career,” he said, and dashed any hopes of returning to his previous career in law enforcement.
But Garza persevered, continued his education and put forward a case to get back into the Veterans Administration.
“I had to reassess where I wanted to go in life,” he said. “I wanted to use my story to help others who are going through injuries.”
Garza studied health science, and helped create the Veterans Treatment Court, which reaches out to veterans in crisis in Wood and Lucas counties. With the knowledge that 22 veterans end their lives each day, Garza found a pathway to help. The organization links veterans with resources, with the goal of deactivating the crisis and giving them hope.
Garza worked for the State of Ohio as a veterans representative and then joined the Department of Justice in 2016. In 2017, as part of the Department of Homeland Security program, he deployed with FEMA to provide assistance after disasters. He responded to areas hit by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, to help communities start their recovery from the destruction.
In 2021, Garza joined the Department of Homeland Security and now in a different role he continues to work to keep the country safe. He works with local, state and federal partners to prevent violence from targeted attacks and terrorism.
Though he worries about his sons serving during these times of unrest throughout the world, having served himself, Garza knows they are in good hands.
“That has allowed me to put some of my concerns to rest,” he said. “The training is top notch.”
