Photo by Tony Gonzales
Specialist Mario Jaimes of the United States Army 341st Military Police Company was selected as the GovX Hero the Game for the Raiders Week 14 match-up with the San Francisco 49ers.
A San Jose native, Spec. Jaimes has been in the Army for nine years and currently serves as a Raven drone operator.
"I'm a 31 Bravo which is military police," Spec. Jaimes said. "We do infantry and we still do our job as military police."
Before participating in the opening coin toss, Spec. Jaimes was on the field to watch pregame warm-ups, and enjoyed being in such close proximity to the players.
He said his favorite part of the day was seeing the players up close. "They look very different. They're all big, it makes you feel like a small guy," said Spec. Jaimes. "It's awesome."
Spec. Jaimes is a lifelong Raiders fan and has stuck with the team through their ups and downs.
"I grew up watching Rich Gannon," he said. "He was one of our really good quarterbacks and he's one of my favorite players."
He was also in attendance at the Raiders Thursday Night Football Game earlier this season.
"This year I was at the Chiefs game. It was really awesome to watch them win. It's been a long time and it was really great."
In addition to his military service, Spec. Jaimes coaches youth soccer and stresses the importance of discipline and team work with his players.
