Team is more than just a word when lives are on the line.

Brothers in arms — it’s a phrase that goes to the core for new Bee Cave police officers Gabriel Flores and John Coker.
Although the two officers didn’t know each other, they quickly bonded over their military service while taking their fitness test together for the department.
Both Flores and Coker grew up in homes where older generations valued service and order. The traits rubbed off on them and factored into their decisions to enlist.
Flores, whose father was a 30-year veteran of the San Antonio Fire Department, started his career in law enforcement when, as an 18-year-old, he became a corrections officer in 2001 at Wackenhut Corrections Corp.’s Central Texas Detention Facility, a 688-inmate capacity private jail that Geo Group now operates in downtown San Antonio.
At the same time, he began raising a 6-year-old stepson with his now-fiancée.
“I matured at a young age. I had to,” he said.
Eventually, he wanted more from his career.
“I learned a lot of good things there, but I wanted to branch off and go into the law enforcement field,” he said. “I came to a point in my life there when I wanted to give myself an upgrade. I felt that it was a really good time to join and to get that experience. That turned out to be pretty good.”
Flores signed up for the Texas Army National Guard in 2006 and deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery to Iraq in 2007.
He had sought an infantry assignment and hoped to stay closer to home, but when the unit was called into active duty Flores was attached to a military police battalion at Camp Bucca, a detainee facility in southern Iraq that held insurgents and Iraqis.
Camp Bucca had just expanded to accommodate prisoners relocated from Abu Ghraib after the abuses there, and Flores’ experience in treating and detaining prisoners was invaluable for the 10-month deployment.
His battalion operated eight units of 70-80 detainees each.
Because of his corrections background, the private held an unusual role of leading two sergeants in operating four sections of 70-80 prisoners each before two promotions elevated him to E-4 specialist.
“It was almost exactly the same thing that I was doing over here, so it wasn’t hard for me to cope,” Flores said.
Rocket attacks from nearby Basra tested his resolve, but after he holed up in bunkers for random barrages, he accepted there was not much he could do.
“We had those long quiet nights, and then it just erupted out of nowhere. It was like running into a beehive,” Flores described. “That was pretty intense.”
When he wasn’t under fire from aerial attacks, Flores had to face some hardened detainees.
“We had some extremists and some bad guys. It was pretty rough,” he said.
He saw many similarities between U.S. and Iraqi prisoners.
“They still play the little inmate con games. They still try to do different things to get away with stuff,” Flores said. “It’s like being at home.”
Some aspects of the job couldn’t bring him closer to San Antonio where his fiancée, stepson and daughter lived.
“Being away from the family and missing big events takes a big toll,” he said. “It made me appreciate my home and the small, simple things of life. We didn’t get too much of them over there [in Iraq].”
Flores is still serving until his tour ends in six months.
“It’s been an honor. It’s made me a better person. I want to concentrate on my law enforcement life now, so I’m counting down the months to pack it up,” he said.
After earning his peace officer’s certification, he applied for Bee Cave Police Department where he reunited with Lt. Vicente Montez who he worked with in San Antonio.
“He puts a lot of trust in me, and I put a lot of trust in him,” Flores said.
The two-hour commute from the Alamo City hasn’t quenched his passion to serve and protect.
“I have that fire burning. I’m enjoying it. I’m loving being out here. It’s a big accomplishment for me,” he said. “I’ve had good experiences with the citizens here. They put a lot of effort into what they make, and what they buy, and what they own. So, I feel like I’m here to help them protect it.”
John Coker’s ambition landed him at the same department within a matter of days as Flores.
Their military service united them as they took the department’s first fitness test.
“We kept each other motivated,” Coker said.
The desire to serve sparked to life in the lawyer’s son when Coker watched the events of Sept. 11, 2001, unfold as an El Paso high school senior.
After a few years of college, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 2005 and applied to the Odessa Police Department in 2006 at the encouragement of an adjunct professor who worked there.
Coker dived into the job with two feet and signed up for the department’s Honor Guard SWAT team where he served narcotics search warrants and participated in critical incidents. He also became a field training officer.
“I did what I didn’t do in high school, which was join everything,” Coker said. “I thought that was a great way to gain experience.”
Coker had wanted to serve on the front lines and got his chance when he was assigned to the Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve.
The newly activated unit was pieced together out of several reserve units that were restructured to take on the new mission of anti-terror operations based at Camp Lemonier, a converted French base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
“The base was strategically located near Somalians in the area,” Coker said. “We were force protection as Army Rangers were conducting operations from the base.”
He missed the birth of his daughter, but was on the phone for the delivery.
“I felt fortunate that I could at least hear it, but I would have much rather been present for it,” Coker said.
Although he expected to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, Coker served there seven months before returning home with his unit.
“The experience was invaluable to me,” he said.
A long-distance relationship with his fiancée prompted Coker to relocate to Austin in July where he applied for an officer’s position at Bee Cave Police Department.
He has experienced somewhat of a role reversal in starting anew.
“It’s weird to be in training again after becoming a training officer, but you can always learn something from everyone,” he explained.
As has Flores, Coker appreciates the chance to continue his law enforcement career and get to know the Bee Cave residents.
“They have been very friendly and receptive. It’s a different kind of community, but I’ve enjoyed it so far.”