This Veterans Day, we invite our fellow Georgians to take a moment to reflect on the commitments and sacrifice our fellow Americans have made and continue to make in order to protect those freedoms which we hold most dear.

In an effort to empower service members, veterans, and military spouses as entrepreneurs and small business owners, Uber launched UberMILITARY in September 2014. We’ve since onboarded tens of thousands of military personnel onto the Uber platform where they are able to take advantage of flexible earning opportunities that conform to their busy schedules, geographic relocations, and transitions into civilian life.

We caught up with two Georgia-based Uber partners who are active duty members of the U.S. military, and are honored to share their stories about what they’ve enjoyed most while serving their country and moving their communities.

To all of our military affiliated Georgians, thank you for all that you do to keep our country safe and strong. We salute you.

Marcos

NAME: Marcos

MILITARY BRANCH: Army

YEARS OF SERVICE: 7.5

STARTED DRIVING: July 2015

CITY HE MOVES: Savannah

Could you tell us a little bit about your background, both personal and military?
I am originally from Puerto Rico and I joined the Army in 2009. I’ve been serving for seven and a half years and I’ve gone on a couple of tours. I joined the Army when I was 36 years old, not too many people join at that age! My background is in accounting and finance, I worked in accounting for ten years before joining the Army. I was in Puerto Rico and I was trying to join the FBI but at that time I wasn’t qualified. After that, I got the opportunity to join Uber.

What would you say are the most important life lessons you took away from your time in the military?
One of the best things is that the discipline you get in the Army is amazing. Another great thing I got from the Army is the training to adapt to any kind of situation. [Driving for Uber] you need to adapt to every kind of customer, and you get a lot of kinds!

How long have you lived in the Savannah area? What are your favorite hidden gems?
I’ve been in Savannah, Georgia for four years, about four and a half. I was first in Colorado with the Army, and then after my deployment they moved me in the summer of 2012 to Georgia. I’ve got a lot of favorite things about Savannah, I love it. I love River Street, it’s beautiful. I like the cobblestone streets and the architecture, the church, and the history and the background of the city. As for restaurants I like the Olde Pink House, I’ve been for my anniversary there a couple of times. It’s so beautiful and the food is some of the best in town. A lot of people say that too, that it’s the best restaurant. Every person I pick up from the Olde Pink House, nobody’s ever said it’s a bad place. For beer places I’ve got Southbound and Moon River breweries as my two favorite places for beer. Those two breweries are the best in Savannah, they both make a lot of custom beers that are very popular downtown. I love Tybee Island, too. It doesn’t have great surf like Puerto Rico but it’s nice to be so close to a beach.

What do you enjoy most about driving with Uber? Any favorite stories from the road?
I have a lot of fun stories. One of the things I enjoy most is that I learned English like eight years ago, and with Uber it’s helped me improve my language everyday. When I learned about eight years ago, I could barely maintain a conversation. Right now, I can speak both languages – Spanish, English – and others like Italian and Portuguese. It’s very interesting. One of the most fun things about Uber is I could tell you stories about people who have started singing in my car, people who have started taking videos or Snapchats. They enjoy the ride a lot. I try to be funny with the people, and people enjoy that. I’ll get a lot of Snapchat videos or people taking pictures with me, it’s incredible!

How do you enjoy spending your free time?
I love surfing, I love going to the beach with my kids and teaching them how to surf or boogie board. I go to church on Sundays with my kids and my wife. I’m Catholic and do a lot of stuff with the church, I don’t do Uber on Sundays because I go to the church and do community service.

Do you think driving with Uber is a good activity for current or former military members? What advice would you give to other military personnel who might be considering driving with Uber?
Yes it’s one of the best things for [active] military personnel like us, because we cannot do regular jobs. If you want to get a regular job [while still in the Army], you need to get specific permissions from a lot of people and you need to be in financial trouble before they’ll give you a job [because it means] you can’t be attending missions. With Uber, you can drive when you can. You are your own boss and you do it when you can. You can adapt your hours and not affect your military life. It’s one of the best opportunities too because you can make extra money. With Uber I have extra money where I can go eat at restaurants, take vacations to Orlando, buy my kids Christmas presents, without having to take out loans or things like that.

Any special shout-outs you’d like us to mention or fellow service members you’d like us to honor this Veterans Day?
One of our SFCs lost his life on one of my deployments, Sgt. 1st Class Talamantes. That’s my shout-out for Veterans Day this Friday.

Josh

NAME: Josh

MILITARY BRANCH: Army

YEARS OF SERVICE: 6

STARTED DRIVING: March 2016

CITY HE MOVES: Savannah

Could you tell us a little bit about your background, both personal and military?
I am 27 and grew up in North Carolina. I’ve always been hands on at work and enjoy helping anyone I can no matter what. I joined the military in 2010 and went from training to Fort Drum in New York as a Communications Specialist working with infantry and supporting training missions as well as movements. Leaving there I’ve come to Georgia [and am stationed] at Fort Stewart as part of a signal unit supporting missions around the U.S. and overseas.

What would you say are the most important life lessons you took away from your time in the military?
Most important life lesson for me in the military is respect. Whether or not you like someone, whether or not you know them, show respect.

How long have you lived in the Savannah area? What’s your favorite hidden gem?
I’ve been in Georgia since February of 2015. My favorite hidden gem would be the Savannah Police Department in downtown. Connected is the cemetery, which is historic in itself.

What do you enjoy most about driving with Uber? Any favorite stories from the road?
I enjoy most just meeting people. There is always something going on every weekend from all over the world. I enjoy meeting and talking to them while taking them where they need to go. Favorite story would have to be a captain I picked up; him, his wife, and a friend. The gentleman was in his late 80s I assume and I drove him from one side of the downtown area to another. He asked what I did, and when I told him I was a soldier, he smiled and told me he was as well. He proceeded to tell me about how he was chosen during Vietnam to be on Eisenhower’s personal medical team instead of going to war. The reason is because when Eisenhower was in Augusta, Georgia playing golf and had a heart attack, the gentleman was on the medical team that saved and took care of him. The gentleman was a joy to speak to.

How do you enjoy spending your free time?
I spend my free time doing Uber and hanging out with friends or some video games. I go to see family often in North Carolina and friends there, too.

Do you think driving with Uber is a good activity for current or former military members? What advice would you give to other military personnel who might be considering driving with Uber?
That answer I don’t have a full response to. As everyone is different, people may like it or may not. I love driving so I enjoy doing it. For other military personnel who want to, my advice is keep the vehicle clean and smelling good. Make sure to be courteous to everyone. I keep water and gum in my car as well in case someone is thirsty or asks.

Any special shout-outs you’d like us to mention or fellow service members you’d like us to honor this Veterans Day?
I don’t know all the Uber drivers around GA, but the few I know will know I enjoy driving with them and my friends know as well.

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