Father of CSUMB grad served as soldier at Fort Ord

By Walter Ryce

On Sunday, May 21, 2023, Michael Rivera joined members of his family at the Salinas Sports Complex to watch his daughter Allyson graduate from CSU Monterey Bay. 

In addition to the pride and hope on display by the thousands gathered, the moment was even more special for Michael. His daughter had attended the university that had once been Fort Ord Army Base, where he had been stationed as a soldier when he was about the same age as her. 

He attended basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey, was sent to Fort Gordon in Georgia, then to Fort Ord in August 1992. 

“I was born and raised in Salinas. I joined the military to get away from home, but was sent back here,” Michael said with a laugh. 

He served in the 127th Signal Battalion, Charlie Company, which handled support communications for the 7th Infantry Division. He describes his unit as the “Verizon of the Army.”

Some soldiers from his unit served as part of Operation Gothic Serpent, which was the 1993 mission in Somalia that became the basis for the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.” 

He said Fort Ord was “teeming with life” in his day. There were so many soldiers they easily filled up the parade field, which is now the vast Lot 59.

Building 490, Oaks Hall, was then headquarters for his battalion. His barracks where he lived was on the first floor of the three-story Building 201, Gavilan Hall, which now houses faculty offices and the broadcast studio of KAZU. 

“Next to us was Infantry Battalion,” Michael said. “The warriors.”

During physical training, Michael and 400 of his fellow soldiers would run in formation in a big loop from their barracks to the ocean and back. When they passed the area where the Otter Student Union is, cannons were fired. They marched and trained in the backcountry of what is now the popular recreation area and nature wildlands of Fort Ord National Monument. 

Michael says he was a part of Fort Ord’s closing ceremony. At 18, he didn’t realize the significance that event would have on the local economy and more. Over the years, he’s come to appreciate it and is amazed at the university that’s grown up in its place. 

“It’s great to come back and be here,” he said a couple of months after graduation as he and Allyson explored the area around his former barracks. Many of the military buildings he once walked through have been demolished, replaced by grasses, brush and new-growth trees.

Michael Rivera and daughter Allyson Rivera | Photo by Brent Dundore-Arias

Michael also attended CSUMB for a semester in 1999, taking liberal studies courses to become a math teacher. But the following year, he was hired by the Salinas Police Department and has been a police officer ever since.  

He says his wife, Lily, who he met while stationed at Fort Ord, convinced their daughter to attend CSUMB. When she agreed, Michael wholeheartedly supported it. 

Allyson said she chose CSUMB because she had a scholarship for the computer science major and was guaranteed to graduate in four years with no waitlist for classes. Also, the campus was far enough away from her parents in King City that she could be independent, but also close to home. 

“I loved living here [on campus],” Allyson said, standing with her father in the shade of a Monterey pine tree near his former barracks. “It’s a great place to be a broke college student.” 

She said she could hike, bike, go to the beach and access nature free and easily. She served as a resident advisor for three years so she could help students adjust to university life and thrive. She’s a big booster of CSUMB. Later the same day, she was due to lead New Student Otter Orientation tours. 

“It’s surreal that my baby girl went to school here, and to see this place changed,” Michael said. “It’s awesome.”