An active-duty Guardian said his inter-service transfer opened new doors in his career and for his family.
Space Force Sgt. Elijah Martinez transitioned from the Air Force in 2021 and today serves as a Joint Tactical Ground Station operator at Osan Air Base in South Korea. The grandson of a World War II POW, he wanted to be up close and personal for the nation’s fledgling expansion into the modern space domain. And as a previous Air Force mobile cyber operator, he was naturally interested in space. When the opportunity to change careers presented itself, he asked his wife, Amber, what she thought.
“I was really adamant with Elijah, like, ‘You’re going to be a part of history,’” Amber Martinez said. “‘You’re doing something that you can tell our babies,’ ‘I was one of the first who transferred from the Air Force into this new branch to form it.’”
It’s worked out well for Elijah thus far, including the different feel between the Air and Space Forces.
“For sure in the Space Force, enlisted personnel are uplifted to make decisions for themselves and others the same as an officer would,” he said. “We kind of work together flat, versus a hierarchy in other branches.”
Amber, a work-from-home mom with a remote system admin job, said that same attitude of teamwork and togetherness also exists with the larger Space Force community, especially when living OCONUS.
“The experience of PCSing overseas has been so incredibly amazing,” she said. “It has been amazing for not only myself, but the children are really immersed in the culture.”
It didn’t start off that way, though. The couple were both apprehensive about living in a foreign country — especially Elijah who had never been outside the States before. They initially lived on-base and appreciated the “Americanness” of the neighborhoods and stores. But step by step, they started venturing further and further off base, realizing how much fun was waiting just outside Osan’s gates. They even eventually moved into South Korean housing.
“The best part of this overseas adventure so far is being able to give my family the opportunity of just being in a foreign country,” Elijah said. “Especially with my kids and the Korean culture, the Koreans are very happy to see young children — they’ll walk up to them and give them sweets.”
Amber praised South Korea’s family-friendly professional baseball games and ultramodern public transportation system.
“Do not get me started on the trains here; it is too easy,” she said, adding that incoming spouses should dive in as soon as possible to life both on and off base. “Get connected, dip your toes in and you’ll come to realize it’s super easy and exciting to know we’re all thinking the same thing, wanting to do the same things, but not alone.
She added, “We’re all a family, just ones you have to meet.”
Elijah’s Space Force family, meanwhile, has given him plenty of opportunities to grow in his career. Besides getting “more comfortable in being uncomfortable” in a new nation, he said, he sewed on E-5 not along after arriving at Osan, expanding his leadership skills.
“I feel more comfortable in being able to lead people now in the role of an NCO,” he said.
Most importantly, Elijah will remember South Korea as the place where he watched his family grow and thrive.
“Our daughter was born here, so this is her first actual home,” he said. “I think what I love about this country so much is that our family became complete here.”
