Rio Rancho veterans inducted into OCS Hall of Fame

RIO RANCHO — Two retired National Guardsmen were recognized in the United States Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.

Retired Major Gen. Kenneth Nava was selected this year, and retired Col. John Alvarado was selected in 2023. Their faces are now seen in Fort Benning, Georgia, representing their longevity in service of about 34 years, as well as their character.

Alvarado and Nava just so happen to be friends as well. In separate interviews, they humbly complimented one another.

“When I was a major, he was a lieutenant and I saw him promote up the ranks, and he finally made it to brigadier general and major general with the New Mexico National Guard, and we’ve remained friends ever since,” Alvarado said about Nava.

He said he watched as Alvarado climbed the ranks and appreciated his leadership qualities.

“I knew that the state was in pretty good hands, and he was a very visible, active officer and he portrayed that with his soldiers. He knew that soldiers were to be respected. I really like Ken. He’s a good man,” he said.

Nava had similar things to say about Alvarado.

“John was a very successful officer in the New Mexico National Guard. He was a colonel, and I remember always seeing this colonel that was very proud and very successful,” he said.

He added that he has respect for Alvarado’s efforts to bring more attention to New Mexico officers.

Both retirees said they were grateful but humble about the Hall of Fame distinction. They both said when people think of military graduates and honorees, the thought usually goes to West Point, a New York Military Academy, but that OCS in Fort Benning produces the same amount of personnel, if not more.

“I’m very proud to have been selected for the OCS alumni association Hall of Fame. But what I’m working now is more to help other officers achieve the same recognition that have done a lot more in the military than I ever did,” Alvarado said.

But he was still grateful for the honor.

“Sometimes you go a long time before being recognized for what you do, and I think that’s why a lot of these officers are that I’m helping they’ve served 30 years or more and they haven’t received a lot of recognition,” he said.

He feels his distinction is due to the longevity of his military career and the assignments he went on. He said he served during times like the Cold War conflict in Berlin. Though many people are patriotic, Alvarado felt privileged to witness that kind of history first hand.

He was a captain from 1986-89 in the U.S. Army Berlin Brigade, which was formed during the Berlin Wall crisis.

“I saw West Berlin as a modern society. We were right across the border from the Soviet Union, East German block, and the things that I saw in East Berlin when I would go on my on my assignments there or on trips into the east side, I saw how the Soviets treated their people. I saw how they were living. I would say, ‘Man, I hope I never have to live like this. This is not right.’ The way they treat their people and then I walk across the street, behind the wall, and people were living a free life thanks to the American soldiers, the French and the British working there,” he said as he recalled his time there.

He also talked about people there taking his picture and the friends he made there.

“It really did make a big impact on me,” he said.

He still carries the values of those days with him now. He is connecting with more Berlin Brigade members in New Mexico this year as well. He said there were not that many from New Mexico during those years.

“I never thought I would spend 34 years in the military. It just happened,” he said.

Nava said he was honored to be selected but that the distinction wasn’t just for him.

“I think it really was about the people that I’ve served with. They’re the reasons that I was able to be successful,” he said.

He talked more about visiting Fort Benning, which gave him more connections than he thought.

“I have an uncle who who died in Vietnam, and he’s buried there in Georgia, so I was able to go visit his gravesite,” he said.

He also felt that the plaque at Fort Benning was more so others than himself.

“There’s a plaque with my name on it there in the OCS Battalion headquarters area. I don’t know that anyone will ever see it, but it’s there. Maybe someday, my kids or my grandkids or somebody will see it and say, ‘Oh, I know who that was,’” he said.

Nava stated most of his career before 9/11 hadn’t involved his mobilization.

“I joined in the late 1980s. Desert Storm happened, but I did not go to Desert Storm. I thought our unit was going to get called, but it didn’t. There were some New Mexico National Guard units that were called to that war. I went 20 years of my service without being mobilized or activated, so I spent almost a full career,” he said.

“After 9/11, my unit was mobilized, and at the time I was working at Intel Corporation. Intel was a great supporter of the of the National Guard and the Reserves and so they were a very good employer to be working for at that time. I left Intel, and when I returned again, they were willing to to bring me back in.”

He said he decided after 9/11 to stay in the National Guard full time, which allowed him to work in many types of jobs and meet different people. He added that the military helped him meet his wife. Now, their ties to Rio Rancho are deep-rooted.

“We moved to Rio Rancho in 1996 because of my job at Intel. We’ve been here since. We’ve had two homes here. My kids all went to Rio Rancho High School. Five of my grandkids are either products of or will be going to school here in Rio Rancho. This is our community,” he said.

For Nava, like Rio Rancho, the military is part of who he is, especially since it has been his life for so long.

“For me it aligns well with my religious beliefs, with my work at Intel, it all kind of all stays very consistent,” Nava said.

Both Alvarado and Nava hope local OCS alumni are not too humble to contact them and get recognition.

“I would encourage anybody who has a relationship with the officer candidate program or the officer candidate school was their source of commissioning that they should contact John or they should contact me and get involved with our alumni association. They may or may not think that they want to be nominated for the Hall of Fame, but I think the fact that we’re we’re getting a group of folks together that are associated with the officer candidate school is a good thing, and to recognize those people, because we have some really incredible alumni,” he said.

Alvarado added that if not for themselves, alumni should participate for the people they’ve served.

Both said there is a lengthy process to getting selected as well.

For more information, visit ocsalumni.org.