JAVIER E. MOLINARES

SPC Javier Molinares was born in Colombia. He came to the United States to live in Miami after he graduated from high school. In Miami, he worked for two years as a cargo handler in a Colombian company until he obtained his Commercial Driver License (CDL) Class "A". Then, he applied to work for Arrow Air, a cargo company at the Miami International Airport, as a tractor trailer driver. Two years later, the FAA revoked Arrow's license to fly its planes, and the company was forced to lay personnel off to balance its budget. Javier was one of the unfortunate workers that lost their jobs during the Arrow's crisis.

After losing his job, Javier joined the US Army. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. Before Basic training, he attended English school at the Defensive Language Institute (DLI) in Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Then, he went to Fort Benning, Georgia to complete the Army Infantry Training, and the Airborne course.

Javier was assigned to B/co 3/325 AIR, 82nd Airborne Division, after nine months of training. Soon afterward, he became one of the best soldiers in his unit for his discipline and dedication. Unfortunately, on January 31, 1998, he was involved in a parachute accident during a mass airborne exercise called "the Purple Dragon." After his accident, Javier was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC to get the proper medical care for his injuries.

On August 9, 1999, Javier was honorably discharged from the Army. He was disappointed about the way his military career ended because he wanted to do more for the 82nd Airborne Division. Luckily, Javier got his opportunity six months later when he met his former 82nd Brigade Command Sergeant Major, Stevenson Cuffee at "the Tomb of the Unknowns" in Arlington Cemetery. CSM Cuffee, who was the senior noncommisioned officer at the US Army Military District of Washington, invited javier to his office at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC. At his office, Javier talk about his desire to join the 82nd Airborne Division Association to continue his work with the airborne community, and CSM Coffee immediately called Manny De Jesus, the Executive Director of the Association, to connect Javier.

After completing all the paperwork, Manny assigned Javier to the Space Coast Chapter of Central Florida. At the chapter, Javier immediately was assigned to assist Eldon Loud, the former secretary. Few months later, Javier was elected secretary. As a secretary, he did an excellent job developing and maintaining the chapter's Web site, and publishing the montly bulletins. He was reelected secretary for two consecutive years after he became a life time member.

Thanks in part to the 82nd Association Educational Fund, Javier attended Florida Tech (Florida Institute of Technology), where he graduated "Magna Cum Laude" with a business communication mayor in 2003. Then, he started writing as an intern for the business section in the local daily newspaper Florida Today. During his time at Florida Today, Javier founded the bilingual newspaper Al Día Today that circulates in Central Florida.

SPC Javier Molinares lives in Palm Bay, Florida with his mother and his son Enrique (Kike). Currently, he is attending graduate classes at Florida Tech in Melbourne to complete a master's degree in Technical and Professional Communication.