A Marine captain born in Honduras and adopted at 6 months old is now training the next generation of military aviators at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.
Captain Roberto Schwartzky is an instructor pilot with Training Squadron 28 and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.
"I was born in Honduras and I was adopted when I was 6 months old and I moved to New Jersey and lived there right until I went to boot camp," Schwartzky said.
His path to military service was shaped by a sense of gratitude toward the country that raised him.
"Not being from this country, I just kind of thought America gave me 18 good years. The original thought was what's giving back 4 good years between friends," Schwartzky said.
Those 4 years grew into a career after his time as a military musician sparked an unexpected passion. While performing ceremonies on the flight line, Schwartzky found himself drawn to the aircraft overhead.
"I got to do a ton of ceremonies on the flight line. Saw the jets in Miramar going faster up at Pendleton, seeing the helicopters. I thought that was pretty cool," Schwartzky said.
That moment set him on a new course. In the spring of 2012, he was accepted to the United States Naval Academy. He attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from the Naval Academy in 2017 with a contract to become an aviator.
Now he is passing that experience on to others.
"I never considered it a job. It's a labor of love, you know, getting up every day, flying two flights, sometimes in the Texas heat in hot aircraft, but it's something that I wanted to do," Schwartzky said.
For Schwartzky, the work carries meaning beyond the cockpit.
"It's something that I, I wake up excited to go do. I put on my flight suit. I have a 15 month old at home. He gets to see Dad put on his flight suit and his boots and go out and, you know, teach our nation's most precious asset," Schwartzky said.
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