MilVets shout-out to Oscar Escano

Oscar is on the right end of the back row, together with the other recipients of the NYC Comptroller's Distinguished Service Award in 2006.

Oscar was the MilVets president in my 2nd stint as MilVets VP in 2005-2006. Returning as a MilVets executive wasn't a goal or ambition of mine; I started the group and had been MilVets' 1st VP in 2002-2003, albeit my 1st stint as VP was less than successful.

When Oscar recruited me to be his VP in Spring 2005, in the middle of the 2005 sprint to the University Senate vote on ROTC, I really just wanted to be only a student again. But, Oscar intended to get the group right and believed I could help him get it right. He appealed to my sense of unfinished business and the parental feeling I had for the group. So, I agreed, but with the 2 conditions that he wouldn't waste my time and we wouldn't get caught up in bureaucratic bullshit. By that point in my career as a campus organizer, I had a very thin tolerance for either.

It may sound prosaic, but my praise for Oscar as MilVets president is high: Oscar didn't waste my time.

Our executive summary for the 2005-2006 MilVets. Our term was bumpy in places, but we achieved what we set out to do.

I suppose I'm giving him a shout-out now for a similar reason I gave a shout-out to Shane Hachey in 2005. When I wrote about Shane, my stint as Oscar's VP was just starting, which caused me to reflect on my 1st stint as group VP. Now, I'm starting the veterans alumni club, which again has made me reflective about my last experience, as Oscar's VP. Credit where credit is due.

Eric