Wrestling four years varsity in high school and then going on to wrestle in college is pretty impressive. For Terrence Alvarez, that’s only a hint as to why he’s been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame New Jersey Chapter as an Outstanding American.

Following graduation from Gettysburg College in 1996 he enlisted in the Army. Following Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training, and Airborne School, he served with the 50th Signal Battalion at Fort Bragg (NC).

He would be commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant before being promoted to Captain in the 4the Infantry Brigade Special Troops Battalion. While with the 4th Infantry Brigade, he was deployed to the Rashid District in Baghdad for more than a year. His company conducted route clearance patrols in order to minimize the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on coalition troops and civilians.

Upon returning to the states he served as the Executive Officer of the 6th Engineer Battalion and Executive Officer of the 2nd Engineer Brigade, both in Alaska.

In 2012 he was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, serving as the Joint Operations Officer for Regional Support Command South, NATO Training Mission.

Returning to America, LTC Alvarez reported to the Pentagon and was Executive Officer for the Business Operations Directorate in the U.S. Army Office of Business Transformation.

Five years ago he left D.C. for Fort Sam Hood, TX, where he served with U.S. Army South as the Deputy Director of Engineers. U.S. Army South is the land component command responsible for an area that includes 31 countries in Central and South America.

Among his awards and decorations are two Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, three overseas service medals, a Combat Action Badge and the Basic Parachutist Badge.

Alvarez received his Master’s degree from Webster University in Missouri and a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences from the Command and General Staff College.

He and his wife Leslie reside in Texas, where he remains a Battalion Commander responsible for providing support for a Combat Team. The couple have four children.