Between both moments there were wars, Apache helicopters, military leadership and a vision that can be summarized in three words: purpose, opportunity and consistency.
Jorge emigrated with his family in 1996. Although he quickly adapted to his new life, he admits that during his adolescence he was not clear about what his future would be.
“I saw myself in Miami and I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. I was a little lost; I had no focus,” he said in an interview with DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS.
His life changed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The influence of Jesús Vilas, a US Navy veteran, and the guidance of Sergeant Lugo, an Army recruiter, sparked his interest in a military career.
At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Army and trained as an AH-64D Apache helicopter maintenance technician. He eventually rose to become a maintenance supervisor and non-commissioned officer.
While many young people were starting university, Jorge was turning 19 and 20 deployed in Iraq. During a 15-month deployment he assumed responsibility for the maintenance and operational readiness of nine Apache helicopters, worth approximately $120 million, as well as supervising and training other Soldiers.
“I came back from Iraq when I was 21 and I still couldn’t even have a beer in a bar,” he said, laughing.
That experience forever marked his way of understanding leadership.
Purpose, opportunity and consistency
For Jorge, success does not respond to complex formulas, but to three principles that have guided each stage of his life.
“The first is to have a good understanding of what your purpose is. The second is to identify and take advantage of opportunities, without letting fear limit you. The third is to do everything with consistency,” he explained.
As you indicated, purpose allows you to focus capabilities toward a mission; opportunity demands preparation and integrity to act even in the midst of uncertainty; and consistency transforms decisions into results through daily work.
“The three ingredients in my recipe have always been purpose, opportunity and consistency,” he said.
From the battlefield to the aerospace industry
The experience gained in the Army opened the doors to an international career in the aerospace and defense sector.
After leaving active duty, he worked in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the United States, where he trained military technicians on Apache systems and participated in the training of more than 35 pilots in the United Arab Emirates program.
He subsequently held leadership positions at companies such as Boeing, Avidyne, Thales Avionics, Parry Labs and Frontgrade Technologies, combining technical expertise with business development and growth strategies for defense programs.
His achievements include receiving a Boeing Pride Award for initiatives that generated approximately two million dollars in savings for a customer.
He later led commercial strategies for programs valued in the tens of millions of dollars and managed portfolios of opportunities exceeding $800 million for some of the largest companies in the industry, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, Boeing and BAE Systems.
His main strength, he explains, is identifying technologies with potential and turning them into funded programs.
AOG Pro: Helping businesses grow
In 2026 he decided to take a new step and founded AOG Pro, a firm specialized in advising companies in the aerospace, defense and dual-use technologies sectors that have innovative products, but need support to access the government market and scale their growth.
“If you’re a tech company and you build something that soldiers or Marines can use, that doesn’t mean your team has the talent to capture that business,” he said.
The company combines strategic advice, market analysis, contract capture, technological positioning, alliance development and commercial support to help its clients transform innovations into operational programs.
The company’s name comes from the aeronautical term Aircraft on Ground (AOG), used when an aircraft remains out of service and requires immediate attention.
“When a helicopter was AOG, you did what you had to do to fix it. You dedicated the best resources possible to it.”
He transferred that same logic to the business world: helping companies go from a critical situation to being fully prepared to fulfill their mission.
Thinking about the future of Cuba
Although he left Cuba as a child, Jorge maintains a strong bond with the island and hopes to one day contribute to its reconstruction.
“Everyone who has Cuban roots has that connection. That is never lost.”
His greatest interest would be in participating in the recovery of the country’s critical infrastructure, especially in the energy, transportation, aviation, ports and connectivity sectors.
“Energy is needed for everything: for hospitals, for schools and for airports. It has to be sustainable and scalable.”
Considers that a future reconstruction must be based on rigorous processes, planning and technological solutions, leaving improvisation behind. He also believes that one of the country’s greatest assets continues to be the talent of Cubans: “Creativity is the daughter of scarcity. That mentality is a chip that all Cubans bring.”
Its vision is to connect that talent with the experience, technology and capital accumulated by the diaspora.
A mission for every stage of life
Jorge resides in Florida, with his wife and two daughters. He has a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Maintenance Management from Liberty University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology.
When he talks to young people interested in following a similar path, he often reminds them that visible results are the product of many years of effort.
“If you want to have what I have, you have to be willing to do what I have done,” he concluded.
As he clarified, not everyone needs to wear a uniform, but they do need to find a mission that gives meaning to their life: “You don’t necessarily have to be a soldier, but you do have to do something.”
Three decades after arriving in the United States as an immigrant child, Jorge Buergo-Hernández applies the rigor he learned in the Army, and that same philosophy drives his company today, while fueling his desire to contribute, one day, to the reconstruction of Cuba.
“Everything was well fought. I still apply the lessons I learned in the Army to this day,” he concluded.
