This installment of 11 QUESTIONS features A.J. Luna, currently serving as the Director Veteran Services for Bergen County.
Originally from East New York (Brooklyn), AJ served in the Army from 2000 to 2006, and is a veteran of the war in Iraq.
In his current role, he serves Bergen County’s 30,000 resident veterans, focusing his efforts on providing them with housing, employment opportunities, and referrals to service providers. He’s also part of the New Jersey Veteran Stakeholder Group, a group that advocates for veteran issues in New Jersey.
AJ Luna has received numerous accolades and been featured on several media outlets recognizing his work and efforts. In 2017, the New Jersey American Legion recognized and awarded him with the “Homeless Veteran’s Outreach Award for the State of New Jersey”. In July 2018, he was selected by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs as the “VA Veteran of the Day” which is a national recognition. He was honored at 1st Annual Brenner Foundation Veteran Services Gala at the Venetian, in Garfield, New Jersey on October 18th, 2018. He was also featured in the Community Solutions Built for Zero Veteran Homelessness National Campaign
- WHY DID YOU JOIN THE MILITARY?
I saw the military as an opportunity to serve my country, gain valuable life experience, travel to places I never been to, and become part of something bigger than myself. - DO YOU HAVE VETERANS IN YOUR FAMILY?
No, I am the 1st person in my family to have ever enlisted in the U.S. military. - WHERE DID YOU ENLIST?
Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY - WHAT WAS YOUR PRIMARY MOS/JOB?
31L Cable Systems Installer and Maintainer. For our deployment to Iraq, our unit was reclassified as MPs (Military Police) for our mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2. - DO YOU REMEMBER THE NAME OF YOUR FIRST DRILL INSTRUCTOR?
Yes, Drill Sergeant Rockmore. He was not a big guy, but he was one mean bad *ss dude! - WHAT WAS THE WORST THING YOU ATE IN THE MILITARY?Chicken a la King MRE, still haunts me till this day!
- WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE DAY IN THE MILITARY?My most memorable day was when our unit got back to Fort Dix when we came back from Iraq. I was immensely proud and happy we survived but sad that we lost one of our best soldiers, Sgt. Joseph Otto Behnke.
- IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THE DAY YOU GOT OUT OF THE MILITARY, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
I would tell my younger self to be more patient with the transition. I did experience some struggle in my transition, but I was very fortunate to have a good support system in place. - DID YOU HAVE ANY VETERAN MENTORS?
Yes, quite a few. During my entire enlistments and in the beginning part of career. I always had someone who believed in my ability and would mentor me during that stage in my life. In 2009, I was in between careers and I was about to give up on Veteran Services until one of my mentors encouraged me to stick with it and made me see something in myself that I could not even see. He made me realize that maybe I needed a change of location. Lo and behold, I got a great opportunity in New Jersey and I never have looked back ever since. - WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A VETERAN?
I would say my proudest moment as a veteran was when Bergen County, NJ was certified to be the 28th community in the United States to have effectively ended veteran homelessness. I never thought that I would one of the main positive contributors to this particularly important issue. I was incredibly honored to be part of a solution to assist my fellow veterans who were at one point in their lives struggling with homelessness. Being able to help them get back on their feet is one of the best parts of my current job.
(Read more here) - WHAT YOUR FAVORITE/LEAST FAVORITE MILITARY-THEMED MOVIES?
FAVORITE: Hurt Locker LEAST FAVORITE: Battleship