CZ Lopez

I love saving lives.

And I love the team that we had around us.

Operators, support, civilians.

It didn't matter.

They were just phenomenal people.

But the need for leadership in those other echelons, specifically the higher echelons, was something that appealed to me.

And I thought that I had something to offer.

I thought that I could do it different than the average.

And I thought that I will go ahead and give it the same level effort and rigor that I gave Special Operations.

That eventually led to being selected as the highest enlisted ranking member in the entire Department of Defense, Department of War today, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman.

But it was that series of misfortunes, and we can talk a little bit more about what that bad means, that eventually put you in a position to where you can make the most difference.

Yeah.

So it begins obviously with not having a purpose in Bridgeport, Connecticut and going to Sacred Heart University.

It was a very tough spot to be, because as a 19-year-old, you're trying to figure out what the hell your life is going to look like.

And college, to me, wasn't going to do that at the time.

So I just went ahead and went blind into military service.

I knew that, hey, there's a purpose in there.

You're serving your nation, and you're going to get the things that you require the most in your life at this point, which is independence, discipline,

And that purpose, right, being part of a bigger team, not just an individual.

So when I got into service and I was and I was given the duty of a transportation specialist, I was sent to Iraq Leonard Station on Creek, Greece.