"Service Members, We Don't Stop": A West Point Grad and Army MP on Transition, Purpose, and Building Arzaga Media
Veterans in the Park
Eric Arzaga is a West Point graduate, a former Army military police officer, and the founder of Arzaga Media. He calls himself the guy from the farmlands of the Philippines who never imagined where the Army would take him. Long before he believed it himself, a JROTC instructor, a West Point graduate, saw a leader in him.
In the Army, Eric helped run a confinement facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, worked in combat support and law enforcement, and later led trainees through basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. The lesson he took from all of it is transformational leadership. Leaders are made, not born, and once you have transformed yourself you can teach others to do the same.
He is direct about leaving. The military is a chapter, and every contract ends. For Eric, the uniform eventually limited the way he wanted to serve people. His transition was smoother, not easier, because he went looking. He flew from rural Missouri to a job fair near Seattle and Tacoma, walked into a room with more recruiters than applicants, and realized he was the buyer. "It's not about lacking resources," he says. "It's about being resourceful."
Arzaga Media started at basic training. During COVID, families couldn't see their trainees, so Eric began filming videos to keep parents connected. That turned into recruiting videos for the schoolhouse and later a company that helps established businesses tell their story online.
His practical advice: build your LinkedIn presence the day you join, not 180 days before you get out. Message the person who makes the hiring decision directly. Keep working out, because motivation follows fitness. If you want to start a business, test the idea while you still have a job and formalize it once someone is willing to pay.
Host Charles, a Marine Corps veteran, asks the questions many service members are carrying. Eric's answer to most of them is to stay uncomfortable, keep growing, and don't stop.
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