Kimo Martinez: Bringing a Family Legacy of Service to the Final Frontier

An Unexpected Path to Space

When he joined AFROTC, Martinez originally planned to become a pilot like many of his "pilot uncles" in the military family network.

Then his sister, who worked for USSF as a civilian, encouraged him to consider the newest branch of the armed forces. "She was like, 'It's going to be the future. You could help transform this new branch of the military,'" Martinez said.

He applied for a supplemental USSF board during his junior year, a rare opportunity to be considered for a USSF officer career after the standard board deadline had passed. Out of hundreds of supplemental board applicants in the Southwest region, he was one of only two selected, and one of just 12 selected nationally.

According to Ulman, interest in the Space Force has been growing at UT.

"UT is one of the few universities with a dedicated USSF officer position in its AFROTC program, a role I currently fill," Ulman said. "This has helped spark cadet interest by providing firsthand insight into life as a Guardian."

Honoring Heritage, Embracing the Future

As Martinez prepares for his next chapter in a new city, he keeps his community, family and cultural traditions close. One of the most visible symbols of this is the hand-carved Hawaiian fishhook, or makau, that Martinez carries.

Of all the places they've lived, Hawaii is the place that feels like home.

"Being a military family, you don't really have a place called home. You're there for three years and then you move," said Martinez. "For us, home is where our mom was the happiest. If you pull up all the photos that we have, my mom was always smiling and laughing, but where my mom looks at peace is Hawaii. She loved the sun, she loved the beach, and she was absolutely at home in Hawaii."

In 2016, shortly after the Brussels attack, the Martinez family was walking through a flea market at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, when they came across a hand-carving stand. Martinez's father recognized something familiar. Years earlier, at a different location, his wife had purchased a hand-carved necklace from a family business. Through an inexplicable connection, the man at the flea market happened to be the brother of the man who carved his wife's necklace.

"There was this weird connection between my dad and the guy. They recognized each other, but they've never met," Martinez said. "Something just drew them towards each other."

That man, Uncle Chami, became part of their extended family. In Hawaiian culture, receiving a hand-carved hook marks an important life transition. Martinez chose his first hook in high school, drawn to it before knowing its meaning. On his hook, the fishhook represents the warrior, the whale tail symbolizes perseverance, and the infinity symbol represents the eternal connections formed when paths cross.

"For some reason, that really stuck with me," Martinez said. "As you cross paths with people, you always have that connection. You'll have that infinite connection with people as you cross paths."

That philosophy mirrors what his father calls "the village" - the military family network that supported them after the attack, the mentors who guided him, the ROTC community that shaped him.