Chief Martinez Reflects on Family, Culture During Hispanic Heritage Month Presentation

Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez, the Exchange’s senior enlisted advisor, was born to teenage parents that, as he put it during a Hispanic Heritage Month lunch and learn, “didn’t have a clue.”

But they soon got one, thanks to the military roots that run deep in Martinez’s family.

“Luckily, my father fell into my grandfather’s footsteps and made a 20-year career of the Army and was able to set of an example for where I was going to go myself,” Martinez said. “I come from a long line of service.”

During the lunch-and-learn, presented by special emphasis program ¡HOLA! (Hispanic Outreach, Leadership & Awareness), Martinez was interviewed by Credit Program Manager Albert Perez Jr., one of the ¡HOLA! program managers. Perez asked Martinez about his Latino roots, his role at the Exchange and his work philosophy.

Martinez said that his great-grandfather was born in Mexico in 1916. In the early ’20s, the family immigrated to the United States, settling in San Antonio, where Martinez’s paternal grandparents and his father were born.

He added that when the time comes, he will be the third generation in his family to retire from the military.

“And I really enjoy what I do,” said Martinez, who joined the Exchange in June. “This is our contribution to our country, and I really appreciate the opportunity that it’s afforded me. It’s that level of service, that level of taking care of one another, that level of being willing to work hard that my parents were able to give me.”

Martinez said that when he was growing up, he didn’t give being Latino much thought—it was just who he was. But he appreciates the importance his culture places on family.

“Family is the core of everything we do, and I really think that’s based off being from the Hispanic community,” he said. “My mom saw that—so much so that when my parents divorced when I was about the age of 10, she decided to move me back to San Antonio, where she knew that my family connections were closer and that the nucleus of my family would rally around me and take care of me, even though my dad was not going to be in San Antonio with us as he continued his career.”

Part of that connection was food, especially the Tex-Mex cuisine that Martinez grew up with.

“The culture and food that come from the San Antonio region are very important to me,” Martinez said. “I really think that food says a lot about a culture, especially when you talk about your comforts and what you want when you’re not feeling so well. I always go back to those Tex-Mex staples I enjoy the most You know, a good chimichanga, some refried beans and some rice.

“When it comes to other things in the culture, I love how I grew up in San Antonio,” he added. “San Antonio has an event called Fiesta. It’s a monthlong celebration of Hispanic heritage [and] San Antonio culture. It starts off with festivals all around town and culminates in parades and a coronation court. My oldest daughter is part of it—she does hand-beading on the [gown] trains as part of the coronation, which is a great opportunity to pay back in to our culture and the things that are unique to San Antonio and the Tex-Mex community.”

As senior enlisted advisor, Martinez—who was promoted to Air Force chief master sergeant in October 2020—serves as a connection between the Exchange and Army, Air Force and Space Force installation leadership worldwide. He also participates in outreach events.

He said again that his family played a strong role in how he approached his military career and how he approaches his role at the Exchange.

“My parents provided me with unconditional love,” he said. “They taught to have pride in everything I did, the value of hard work and pride in your family name. Whether in the classroom, on the field or in a work setting, they insisted on me providing my best effort—to make connections with the people that you work with to make it a family and a team. Operating from this perspective allowed me to be confident in who I am.”

“I would also say that my grandfather is also a very significant person in my family and a mentor to me,” he added. “He enlisted in the Army in the 1950s and had two tours in Vietnam. He really set the tone for military service in my family. Even after he retired from the Army with 20-plus years, he went into the local community in San Antonio, to an underprivileged high school, where he was an ROTC instructor and a teacher for almost another 20 years.”

Martinez added that his grandfather also stressed how it important it was to not be miserable for a long time or get stuck in a situation where you’re unhappy.

“I always took that to heart,” Martinez said. “You have to find ways to put yourself in the right places to be successful and I couldn’t ask for a better mentor.”

Martinez lost that mentor only recently—he concluded talking about his grandfather by saying that his funeral was last Monday and that he would miss him.

Martinez also credited teachers, coaches, supervisors and friends as mentors—and his wife, who shared his grandfather’s positive outlook on life.

“It takes a village to really create a Chief,” he said. “My wife always reminds me to take a moment to smell the roses and have fun along the way. She keeps me humble and makes sure I don’t let any of this go to my head.”

In addition to talking about his heritage and his family, Martinez shared 11 principles on leadership, which you can see on the slide below.

In promoting a diverse work environment, he added later, communication and listening are especially important.

“I wish this was something that we didn’t necessarily have to think about,” he said, “but I think that sometimes through our upbringing we’ve encoded some unconscious biases toward people or groups. When we focus on diversity in our organizations, it allows us to open our ideas of what the groups are able to bring to the team. When you’re not sure about a group or an individual, the best thing you could do is have open communication, really learned about who they are, and you’ll find out that … you probably have a lot more in common with them than you don’t.”

For people who are looking to move ahead in their career at the Exchange, Martinez said: “I had a great mentor tell me that if you want to soar with eagles, you can’t be hanging with the turkeys. That means that if you want to be successful, you have to be careful who you choose to have around you.”

Martinez suggested surround yourself with like-minded people who have an idea of what success looks like and will support you, but also to educate yourself by reading books and taking classes about leadership. He added that associates should take advantage of many programs the Exchange offers.

“I’ve seen and met a lot of associates who have been here for a long time,” he said. “I’ve seen some great success stories of folks who started out as summer hires and have made their way up to the higher echelons using tuition assistance, management leadership courses and professional development, and just being mentored by leaders along the way.”

After Martinez’s presentation, Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull gave closing remarks, thanking Martinez and the ¡HOLA! team and encouraging associates to honor their Hispanic teammates during Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Family isn’t just a priority,” Shull said. “It’s a value that shapes how we connect with one another, how we lead, how we work. I encourage each of you to take a moment, not just today but every day this month, to lift up our Hispanic colleagues or teammates. We’re better together and we all bring so much not just to the workforce, but how we take care of and love one another.”

If you missed the lunch-and-learn or would like to revisit it, you can watch the entire presentation below.

Chief Communication Officer Judd Anstey and South East Region Vice President Tony Pares are executive champions of HOLA! (Hispanic Outreach, Leadership & Awareness). Chief of Staff Jose Hernandez is co-program manager along with Perez. Dora Trillo, Marketing art director, is assistant program manager.

To learn more about ¡HOLA!, click here. To learn more about Exchange Special Emphasis Programs, click here.