Branch, Years Served, & Job in the Military:
Army, 22 years served, Logistics
Service History:
Samuel U. Cantu was born December 4, 1974, and raised on the westside of Corpus Christi, Texas. He graduated from Moody High School in 1993 and enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Signal Support Specialist. His active duty stations included Fort Knox (194th Support Battalion), Camp Stanley, Korea (1st 37th Field Artillery), and Fort Campbell (Charlie Co. 326th Engineers), where he earned his Air Assault badge. After transitioning to the Army Reserves in 1998, Samuel served in various roles and rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class. He was twice mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2007–2008, 2009–2010) with the 453rd Transportation Detachment. He retired with 22 years of honorable military service. In his civilian career, Samuel joined the federal workforce in 1998 as a Maintenance Administrative Technician. By 2004, he became a WS-09 Supervisor and now oversees the Equipment Concentration Site in Robstown, Texas, supporting over 45 reserve units in equipment readiness. He holds associate degrees in Business and Political Science from Del Mar College and a bachelor’s in Management Information Systems from Texas A&M–Corpus Christi. He is currently pursuing his MBA. Samuel’s greatest accomplishment is being a devoted husband to Veronica and proud father to Bryanna and Celeste.
Deployments and/or Activations:
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2007–2008, 2009–2010)
Favorite Military Memory:
My favorite military memory was when I was running the transportation yard in Afghanistan. My unit was spread across multiple sectors working with a variety of coalition forces. Different flags on our shoulders, but one mission in our sights. On our busiest days jingle trucks were honking, scent of dust and diesel thick in the air. With all the chaos going on, there would be moments of stillness. Behind us, the Afghanistan mountains always stood like ancient sentinels, jagged and unmoved watching everything unfold. Every now and then, I and the other coalition members would be captivated by the mountains beauty. We would talk about our families and what we were going to do when we got home. Different uniforms, same heartbeat. The stillness would not last long, and in a second we would be spun back into the chaos.
Current Degree Plans & Academic Goals:
MBA in Data Analytics.