Celebrating America’s Heroes

America is the home of the free because of the brave men and women who have served our country. In honor of Veterans Day this month, we’re sharing the stories of a veteran who now calls Watco home. From all of us at Watco, thank you for your service.

Gilbert Solano, equipment maintenance and supply manager Greens Port

Before joining Watco’s Greens Port team earlier this year, Gilbert Solano spent his entire career in the U.S. Army. He enlisted just months before 9/11 and spent his first year in service at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It’s there that he married his wife, Malinda.

Solano served the first of two deployments to Afghanistan starting in 2002, where he prepared weapons for his infantry. In 2007, he returned to train the Afghan National Army as an embedded tactical trainer. Solano’s third and final deployment, in 2009, took him to Iraq. There he assisted with weapon systems, including artillery.

Outside of his deployments, one of Solano’s proudest achievements happened in 2008 at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he was inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. Another career highlight was in 2019 when Solano’s company was named the best aviation support company by the U.S. Army.

After other stops in South Korea and states like Hawaii, and Texas, Solano retired this year from the U.S. Army. After learning about Watco at a career fair at Fort Hood, he was interested but wanted to see more for himself.

“I drove to DeRidder, Louisiana, to check out Watco’s first switching site,” Solano said. “I liked what I saw and accepted the job offer.”

Solano relocated his family to Houston, and began his career as an equipment maintenance and supply manager at Watco. He uses the lessons he learned in the Army to help lead his team.

“I was taught to see the bigger picture,” Solano said. “I’ve passed that message on to my team. It’s not as simple as being a mechanic. Instead, look at it as how your role affects the company and operations.”