Meet Your Military
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PHOTO: Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Peter Bergum, coach of the Barcelona women’s soccer team at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, stands ready as his team gets ready for a June 27, 2014, game. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kenneth TucceriGUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Several service members here have taken to the soccer field to boost their fitness and relieve stress. Their new coach, a fellow member of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, has the skills to help the local female soccer team, Barcelona, to the next level. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Peter Bergum, with JTF Engineering, has coached his children’s soccer teams for many years back home. In fact, he has a U.S. soccer coaching certification, called an e-license, and coaches in Iowa. When word of his experience reached a Barcelona player, he was recruited to help bring them together and unite a team that includes both experienced and inexperienced players. “They’re great. They’re fun,” Bergum said. “It’s fun to practice and see an improvement in the couple of games we’ve had together.” Most recently, the team has been working on foot skills and run drills to improve passing, shooting and ball-handling. “We’re trying to get everybody a little bit better, because we have all different experience levels on the team -- those that have played for years
and years, and those that have never played before getting here,” Bergum said, “so that’s kind of a fun challenge.” Army Sgt. Rebecca Rickrode, a soldier with the 420th Military Police Company who plays forward for Barcelona, brings a lot of experience to the table. She said training with those who have never played before has been an interesting challenge, but she has seen a vast improvement in the team as a whole since Bergum has come on board as coach. “He is a very positive coach, and he’s very helpful,” she said. “He’s encouraging, but he also teaches us a lot of good techniques and helps out people who play at all different levels.” While the female soccer league ends next week, the women of team Barcelona will never forget the skills they learned and the feeling of camaraderie they felt during the season, and for a brief moment enjoyed a positive distraction from being away from their loved ones. “[Playing] just brings a little bit of home back to deployments,” Rickrode said. “You can do something that’s fun and not just do PT all the time.”
Read more: Meet Your Military: Sailor Steps Up as Volunteer Soccer Coach
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PHOTO: Army Sgt. Fabricio Granados jokes with fellow soldiers after fixing a generator on Forward Operating Base Sweeney, Afghanistan, June 19, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston Drenched in sweat, Army Sgt. Fabricio Granados, an Oakland, Calif., native, ignored the discomfort of the heat as he distributed water to the thirsty, putting self-interest aside to serve a higher cause.FORWARD OPERATING BASE SWEENEY, Afghanistan– The sun-baked gravel on the landing zone here appeared as lava stones in a sauna. The shaded Conex container gave a deceptive invitation of a more comfortable working climate, the invitation proved to be nothing but a mirage. Granados serves in power equipment and generator repair for Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. His altruistic character and life experience have molded him into a versatile noncommissioned officer, his first sergeant said. “He’s an awesome NCO, and he’s a quiet professional,” said Granado’s supervisor, 1st Sgt. Rebecca Schlegelmilch, a Munster, Indiana, native. “He has such a broad spectrum of knowledge because of his experience throughout life. He can do anything, and he does so much more than fix generators.” Aside from being a generator mechanic, Granados is the NCO in charge of nine soldiers who support their battalion with a variety of skill sets, all of which he is competent in: four who work on weapons, one who works on night vision goggles, another who works on radios, a welder, an air conditioning mechanic and a generator mechanic. Granados said he uses the skills he has accrued over the years to support a cause that is bigger than himself. “Whatever we’re called to do, it’s in support of that company or battalion we’re attached to,” he said. “I know a little about everything, and I feel that’s why they’re always calling us to go on missions.
They’re constantly drawing on our knowledge and expertise to complete the mission.” Another facet of Granados’ job is to assist CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilots attach and detach sling loads that carry essential supplies to service members in remote areas of southern Afghanistan. “It’s just another part of my job,” he said. “We get word from the support element back at base that food, water, fuel or whatever they need is coming, and then we make sure we’re ready to detach the load that they’re bringing or attach a load that they need to lift out.” Granados, currently on his second deployment, has refined his skills over the years doing his job in the Army.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Versatile Soldier Aids Mission Success
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PHOTO: Air Force Senior Airman David Flaten trains at Rosaryville State Park, Md., June 3, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nesha HumesJOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. – It was summer 2007 in Wausau, Wisconsin. David Flaten, now a senior airman assigned here, had completed his first mountain bike race through the 9-mile forest course with no racing experience and only a simple knowledge of cycling. But after regaining the feeling in his legs, he said, he knew he had fallen in love. Flaten is ranked 43rd of 250 cross-country mountain bicyclists by USA Cycling, the official cycling organization responsible for identifying, training and selecting cyclists to represent the United States in international competition. In January 2013, just three years after enlisting and with eight years of experience cycling, Flaten started racing professionally. "I apply a lot of my military bearing in my training and racing. It's important to treat every competitor with respect," he said. "I take pride in taking care of my bike and equipment, just as I take pride in wearing the uniform."
Flaten is ranked 43rd on a list of 250 for cross-country mountain bikers, according to USA cycling, the official cycling organization responsible for identifying, training and selecting cyclists to represent the United States in international competition. He participated in the 2013 Conseil International du Sport Militaire cycling competition in Belgium as one of two active-duty cycling professionals for the Armed Forces Cycling Team. To be selected for that elite group, a cyclist must be rated as a professional mountain biker or as a Category 1 road cyclist. Flaten said he is most proud of his continuous self-motivation and added that he is "always pedaling in a forward direction." The 21-year-old's training includes core exercises, stretching and high-intensity cycling on roadways and through mountain terrain. He works out at least 20 hours a week. Clean eating, staying hydrated and resting are a 24/7 discipline, he said. "The drive you have to force yourself to [train] is more important than being able to physically turn over the pedals," he said.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Airman Brings Military Discipline to Cycling
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PHOTO: Air Force Senior Airman Mario Acevedo, left, issues packaged meals to Air Force Staff Sgt. Smette Pompfiliusin in Ladyville, Belize, during the U.S. Southern Command-sponsored New Horizons training exercise, June 24, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kelly Ogden LADYVILLE, Belize – Air Force Senior Airman Mario Acevedo is one of the busiest airmen assigned to the U.S. Southern Command-sponsored New Horizons exercise in Belize. As the lodging representative, he makes room assignments, tracks personnel accountability and works with the host nation hotel to make sure things such as laundry, dining and housekeeping practices are meeting government standards. Acevedo, a services journeyman deployed here from the 820th RED HORSE Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, also plans morale trips, barbeques, movie nights and sports and fitness activities. He also issues packaged meals to more than 560 personnel, delivers breakfast to two engineering constructions sites in Belize City each morning and assists with switching out Belizean security guards at the end and beginning of their shifts. “I’ve enjoyed it,” said Acevedo, who hails from Tucson, Arizona.
“The best part of the deployment is working with a great team.” Acevedo joined the Air Force four years ago. His great-grandfather and his grandfather served in the Navy, and his father served in the Army. “It was kind of a ‘keep it in the family’ thing,” Acevedo said. “I wanted to do something that was noteworthy, and I had an urge to serve my country.” The airman said that although his father is very proud of him and likes that he is serving, his mother is just “OK” with his military service, and wants her son to be careful and safe. But he plans to serve for 30 years if he can, he added, and to retire from the Air Force as a chief master sergeant. “You have to aim high and have goals,” he said. In just a few weeks, the New Horizons exercise will be complete and Acevedo will return home. Although he is excited to redeploy, he said, he will miss the Belizean people. “Just talking to them was great,” he said. “They made it kind of feel like home.”
Written June 25, 2014 By: Air Force Master Sgt. Kelly Ogden 12th Air Force Republished and redistributed by permission of DoD.
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PHOTO: Air Force Senior Airman LadyCiara Eime, born and raised in the Philippines, speaks six languages: Cebuano, Tagalog, Chavacano, Mandarin, English and Nihongo. U.S. Air Force graphic by Senior Airman Melanie Bulow-GontermanTAMPA, Fla. – University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor Edward Lee Gorsuch once said, “Learning a foreign language not only reveals how other societies think and feel, what they have experienced and value, and how they express themselves, it also provides a cultural mirror in which we can more clearly see our own society.” For Air Force Senior Airman LadyCiara Eime, 6th Comptroller Squadron command support staff, learning languages has become second nature. Eime was born and raised in the Philippines, speaking Tagalog as the household language. Her parents, both from different cultural backgrounds, widened her vocabulary to Cebuano and Chavacano, the native tongues of her father, and Mandarin, her mother’s native language. While growing up, Eime said, she dreamed of coming to the United States and fulfilling the American dream, so she began to save her money. Her parents encouraged her to invest her money and time in education, she added, because once that was complete, the possibilities for their little girl were endless.
“I always wanted to learn about different cultures, and I love to travel,” she said, noting that her parents instilled in her that a higher education is the only wealth that cannot be stolen or taken away. “My parents always told me that people who know more about other cultures are knowledgeable and know their way around life,” she said. “Learning their language is the best weapon you can use to battle the challenges that life may bring you.” With the small amount of money she saved and with help from the Philippine president and an American telecommunications company, Eime earned a bachelor’s degree in international business administration and graduated with honors.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Airman Finds Success Speaking 6 Languages