Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

IN THE US Military, the highest-ranking officer is a general, followed by a lieutenant general, then a major general, which is the third position from the top in the chain of command. Fewer than one–half percent of commissioned officers make it to the top three ranks.

Sometimes referred to as two-star generals, major generals wear an insignia on their shoulder bearing two stars. They also serve as high-level officers at major commands and at the Pentagon, perform major tactical operations and conduct sustained battles and engagements. Major generals serve as commanders of divisions, which consist of 10,000 to 16,000 soldiers. There are only 10 divisions in the active Army and eight in the Reserves/National Guard. According to USmilitary.about.com, there are only 99 major generals on active duty in the US Army today. One of them is of Filipino descent, Major General Eldon Regua, the Commander of the 75th Division – the Battle Training Division- and the most senior active Filipino American Officer in the US Army.

The president nominates officers for the rank of major general, and the US Senate must confirm the appointment. Eldon Regua is the fourth FilAm to have reached Major General rank but the three are already retired: Major General John R. D’Araujo Jr., the first Filipino American to be promoted to Major General; Major General Antonio Taguba, who retired in 2007; and Three-star Lieutenant General Edward Soriano who retired in 2004 with the distinct honor of being the highest-ranking Filipino-American in the United States armed forces.

Major General Eldon Regua has been with the US army since 1977. He has fought in the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He has been awarded the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal and an Army Achievement Medal. He has been commanding the 75th Division (Battle Command Training Division) since August 10, 2008, being the 17th Commanding General of the Division.

Regua’s strong family upbringing, dedication and hard work have greatly contributed to his success. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Eldon Regua grew up with his 6 siblings in a mixed cultural household with his Filipino father, Felipe or Philip, and Mexican mother, Evangeline.

"My dad had to drop out of school in the fifth -grade in the Philippines, but he taught me, whatever you do, do it the very best and work the hardest," said Regua in an interview with a local newspaper, Evergreen Times. "I’ve tried to apply those same principles to my life, and to make general officer is just a very high achievement for anybody. I think there are only two Filipino or Mexican Reserve general officers. That’s a pretty small population of minority generals in the entire army. I’m proud of that fact," added Regua.

Eldon’s father, Philip, had come to the US from the Philippines in 1929 and became an agricultural laborer. His mother, Evangeline, a Mexican American, was born in El Paso, Texas. His parents met in 1950 while picking green beans in Milpitas. They eventually married and settled in the Evergreen District of San Jose in 1968. Eldon revealed that their whole family worked in the fields. "I was probably 8 or 9 years old when my mom took all seven of us out to work," said Regua. With his parents, four brothers and two sisters, Regua worked picking prunes, walnuts, green beans and apricots.