Military Background

Santos’ career choice was to be expected as his father and his seven older brothers (four Vietnam combat veterans) served in the US Army and two sisters served in the Air Force branches of the United States military. Specifically, Santos was inspired by his older brother, Seferino, retired (US Army). In Vietnam, Seferino (d. 2003) was a member of the long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP, a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrolled deep in enemy-held territory.

Santos’ military service began with his active-duty years from 1975 to 1990 in the US Army. After the September 11, 2001, terrorists’ attacks in the US, Santos was motivated to return to military service. In 2002, he enlisted in the Army Reserves. Santos was deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in 2005 while serving in the Army Reserves.. In 2008 Santos was asked to consider return to active-duty service at which time he returned to active duty service. In 2011, he retired after 23 years of combined Army Reserves and US Army active duty.