Thursday, December 12, 2024
The Hallowed History of the United States Military Academy at West Point can capture the imagination of many, young and old alike, and why not, so many legendary
military figures in the history of the nation at one point or another went through
West Point.
One day a youthful Gonzalo Cacho was reading a history book in his native country of Puerto Rico when he came across West Point and was instantly hooked. When he was older, this was where he was going to school.
“My mom was like, “No way!”, but after reading that book, I was going to the Army,” Cacho said.
The amazing journey for Cacho took him from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Military Academy, to Fort Cavazos in Killeen, Texas, and then ultimately to the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Now Cacho is about to receive his next assignment as he received his military residency assignment during Military Match Day.
When he arrived at West Point in the summer of 2013, there was no doubt what he was
striving for from the beginning.
“I always wanted to do medicine,” Cacho said.
The U.S. Military Academy has several programs set up to help cadets prepare for medical school and a career in health care, which accounts for about 10% of each graduating class. Cacho was headed down that path, but before his graduation in 2017, he decided to take a detour.
“I was on track for medical school as I was preparing for the MCAT when one of my professors gave me the idea to serve as a junior officer before I go into medical school so I could get the experience,” Cacho said.
Cacho enjoyed much success at West Point. He received the Distinguished Cadet Award in 2016-17 for earning a GPA of 3.67 or higher. He deferred medical school after graduating and went to Army Logistics University for an Ordnance Basic Officer Leadership course at Fort Lee in Virginia. He was then assigned to Fort Cavazos in November of 2017 as an Army Maintenance Control Officer.
There, Cacho managed 80 armored vehicles and 200 pieces of military equipment with a price tag of nearly $60 million. He would rise to Company Executive Officer in two years and be in command of a logistical operation for 150 soldiers that supported the 1st Squadron, 7th Calvary Regiment which consisted of over 600 soldiers. Along the way, Cacho had two deployments overseas, one in Poland and the other in Germany.
Cacho knew after four years, he had to decide, did he if wanted to continue to rise through the ranks or head to medical school.
“I was always thinking about it, and once I finished with my junior year of officer time, the next step was to become a company commander,” Cacho said.
Cacho chose medical school and TCOM because of its reputation. He was quick to credit his experience at West Point with getting him back into the academic groove that is necessary to succeed in medical school.
“It was difficult to get back into, I was four years out and taking the prerequisites and the MCAT was difficult,” Cacho said. “I got into the grind though and I was able to learn quickly.”
At TCOM, Cacho volunteered at the Cornerstone Community Clinic and made two medical mission trips out to West Texas to provide medical care to rural and underserved areas. Cacho is a member of TCOM’s Rural Osteopathic Medical Education program and a class representative.
Cacho matched in internal medicine at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. He will be commissioned a Captain in the United States Army upon graduation in May.
From HSC Newsroom - Community by Steven Bartolotta