SOLEDAD — Gunnery Sgt. Luis Ledesma, a 2007 graduate of Soledad High School and former Commanding Officer of the school’s NJROTC unit, has recently completed his first year as the Assistant Marine Officer Instructor (AMOI) at the prestigious Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Located in Lexington, Va., VMI is the oldest state-supported college in the United States. As AMOI, Ledesma is tasked with providing drill, military and leadership training to the nation’s future officers.
With a student population of over 1,600 cadets, Ledesma has his hands full teaching three classes and providing additional training to cadets at the Officer Candidate School, located in Quantico, Va.
VMI graduates almost 400 cadets a year, with almost half accepting a commission into the military.
Ledesma has served 15 years in the Marine Corps and plans on retiring after 20 years and is interested in becoming a NJROTC instructor as his second career.
He is married to Vicky Ruelas Ledesma, also of Soledad, and they have two children, Kaleb and Natasia.
