Manuel Aranda, 34, serving for the first time in law enforcement having completed a Corpus Christi Police Department academy, but unable to accept a job on their force due to personal issues he needed time to resolve back in his home in the Rio Grande Valley. Later, when he began applying everywhere he received a phone call from Ingleside, inviting him to work for the city. Ingleside Index

Aranda enlisted in the U.S. Army just a few years after 9/11, but those tragic events were his motivation to sign up for Uncle Sam, to get back at the terrorists who attacked America. His tours of duty have included time in Iraq. Still in the Reserves, Aranda now holds the rank of Captain in the military. Courtesy: Manuel Aranda