Brushfire

2021 ended up being a record year for us, with 30 candidates passing the ASVAB and enlisting in the military. Each had their own obstacles to overcome but the story of the year has to go to Kebir, pictured here. He was an interpreter who worked for us in Afghanistan and was marked for death by the Taliban because of it. He came to America still possessed of a desire to serve his adopted country, but since the Taliban weren't crazy about education, he had no math knowledge. He was referred to us and after a few classes easily passed the ASVAB last month. He leaves for boot camp tomorrow and will serve in the Infantry. Kebir is one of the good guys and will make a great American. We are so proud of him and the other 29 who raised their right hands to serve this wonderful country of ours.

We are putting out candidates like a Pez dispenser this month. Lacey Violeta passed her ASVAB test on the 7th and enlisted in the Army. Danny Angel passed his on the 14th and joined the Marines. Ginette Rancy passed hers on the 16th and went into the Navy. All of them more than doubled their scores. Behailu Fitzjames, pictured below, passed his test last month but just got sworn into the Navy on Friday. His job will be Master at Arms - the Navy equivalent of military police. He leaves for boot camp on December 14th. Well done to the man who has one of the coolest names we've come across!

We normally post pictures of our candidates getting sworn in, but sometimes the photographer is on a coffee break so we get a snapshot like this one. Jayda Harris is signing her contract to join the Navy. In addition to being an outstanding candidate who will make a great sailor, Jayda now holds the record for high score at Brushfire. She got a 78 on her ASVAB! Not bad considering she came to us with a 33. This puts her in the top 22% of recruits and she basically has her choice of jobs. She chose submarines and leaves for boot camp on October 4th. Well done Jayda!

We reached a significant milestone at Brushfire this week when Aaron Quintana (on the left) passed his ASVAB and got sworn into the Navy. He is the 40th candidate to successfully complete our ASVAB Prep course. This is noteworthy because 40 is the number of Marines or soldiers in a rifle platoon, as well as a section aboard a Navy warship. Our next goal is 150 - the equivalent of a rifle company, Air Force squadron, and crew of a frigate! The best is yet to come...

You wouldn't know it from our two-month hiatus but it has been a busy spring here at Brushfire. First things first - congratulations to Memphis Daniels (from South Carolina). Memphis (from South Carolina) didn't need much help from us - just four classes and a 57% increase in his ASVAB score and off he goes to the Navy on June 21st! Since March eight other Brushfire alumni have passed their tests and been sworn in. For some reason they're all camera-shy so we don't have pictures, but congratulations to Olivia Devine, Abdul Padilla, Jessica Mandujano, Lupita Ramirez, David Carrillo, Carlos Cortez, Josiah Pineda, and Jayda Harris. All will be joining Memphis (from South Carolina) on the high seas. Make all preparations for getting underway!

From the Alumni Update File: Trenton Cortez came to us last fall needing a little help to pass the ASVAB. Eight classes later, with a 146% increase in his score, he passed and graduated boot camp last week. His follow-on school is in Pensacola, where he's learning to be an aviation boatswain's mate - the people who launch and recover aircraft on a carrier. After that, it's off the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. Well done Trent! And make sure you watch Top Gun before you deploy...

We got this in just under the wire. Kadon Dawson-Hardaway was our last ASVAB Prep candidate for 2020. He passed his test on December 29th and was sworn in yesterday. After five classes with us he more than doubled his score and chose infantry for his MOS. He wants to go to Ranger School and then apply for Special Forces. We commend his ambition and wish him the best of luck! He'll need it for Ranger School...

We get a lot of great people coming through our doors here at Brushfire but this girl is special. There are just some students you know will do great things, and Ixshel Mendez is one of them. Named after the Mayan goddess of fertility, Ixshel is our first Navy recruit! She came to us with a score of 28 and seemed stuck there after several practice tests. Six weeks and nine classes later, she passed her ASVAB with a 59! She leaves for boot camp on January 25 and is headed for the submarine service. I explained what the Shellback and Bluenose Ceremonies were, but she'll find out soon enough. Congratulations Ix! We wish you fair winds and following seas...

We've had a busy few months here at Brushfire, with five candidates passing the ASVAB recently, including Akeeles Dimas. He came to us with a score of 11. After 28 hours of instruction he made a 42 on his re-test! He qualified for Airborne and leaves for boot camp today. Congratulations Akeeles! We're positive he'll live up to his namesake (the greatest of all Greek warriors).

One of the most rewarding programs we offer is our ASVAB prep course. This helps young people who want to join the military pass the entrance test (the ASVAB). Our most recent candidate is Tyler Moore, who only needed just over seven hours of instruction to see an increase of 40% in his test score. Congratulations Tyler! He leaves for boot camp on August 3rd.