Ricky Ortega (born 1987) was a US Marine Corps sergeant who served in the Afghanistan War. He was stationed at FOB Sasquatch in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and, in 2009, he met General Stanley McChrystal after returning to Afghanistan from rest and relaxation in Italy. Ortega was gung-ho, believing that the American mission in Afghanistan was to provide security to the Afghans and improve their standards of living; however, his squadmate, Corporal Billy Cole, expressed a pessimistic outlook on the war. Ortega and Cole later went on to participate in Operation Moshtarak.