Photo By Brian Godette | Pfc. Patrick Palion a paratrooper assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry...... read more read more
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DRAWSKO-POMORSKIE, Poland –U.S. Army Pfc. Patrick Palion, a native of Detroit, and a paratrooper assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade stands out as the only paratrooper with the 173rd Abn. Bde, training in Poland, who speaks Polish fluently.
The 173rd Abn. Bde. is based in Vicenza, Italy, and serves as the conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe. Since late April, the 173rd Abn. Bde. has been training in Poland with Polish and Canadian NATO allies to demonstrate U.S. commitment and sustain interoperability between military forces in a series of exercises highlighting multi-nation interconnections.
The training mission in Poland is not a new experience for paratroopers of the 173rd Abn. Bde., who have a collective experience of training and missions in more than a dozen countries, however bridging the gap with a foreign country through language is a huge pathway to a unilateral understanding.
Many new Soldiers seek a way to prove themselves and become a resource to their unit, and in the case of Palion the mission to Poland created such an opportunity.
“I’m pretty new to the military; been in for 16 months now,” said Palion. “Originally I’m from Kantowitz, Poland, [when I was] about 3 years old my family moved to the U.S. This is my first time back to Poland”
Palion joined the Army and was stationed in Vicenza, Italy, with Company L, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade as his first duty station.
“My first sergeant got word that I spoke Polish and attached me to Company C in order to help complete the mission and make things easier over here,” said Palion.
The practicality of a Soldier who is already embedded with a unit, conducting training, living amongst his military comrades, but who can also be a translator was an advantage seized by Palion’s chain of command.
“Having Palion has been a great help,” said Staff Sgt. Donald Harris, noncommissioned officer assigned to 173rd Abn. Bde. “If not for him we would not be able to communicate with a lot of the people that we do.”
Paratroopers of the 173rd Abn. Bde. have been working very closely with the Polish Army’s 6th Airborne Brigade.
“Some of the Polish Soldiers speak English, but a majority of the ones we need to interact with have a harder grasp of the language and he [Palion] really bridges that gap.” said Harris.
There is also a multitude of barriers and delays that can be met when dealing with two cultures that speak a different language. In the field and under training conditions, those delays become more of a negative impact on a mission. Communicating things from training and movements to basic living needs becomes a critical factor.
“I definitely feel like an asset to the team here, helping to accomplish a lot of big goals like calling up air fields and getting CDS (water purification) drops, or simple things like getting internet hooked up to facilitating training meetings between the Polish and Americans,” said Palion.
Palion’s skills as an interpreter have proven to be beneficial both on and off duty.
“At work he normally supports the officers, but during his downtime, Pfc. Palion really gets involved with the guys on the line and helps them if they need assistance ordering food or interacting with their Polish counterparts,” said Harris.
The 173rd Abn. Bde. is slated to conclude training in the region in October, and Pailon is unclear if he will be called to assist as an unofficial translator until that time, but is satisfied with what he was able to bring to the table thus far.
“I like helping everybody out, anything I can do to help the team accomplish the task, because it makes everything easier on us.” said Palion. “Helping somebody out with a simple task, you might just get a little fist bump for, but somewhere down the road it might matter.”
A humble start for a new Soldier who was able to utilize parts of his family heritage to further drive the success of his Brigade’s mission and NATO allied training.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2014 10:12 |
| Story ID: | 132537 |
| Location: | PL |
| Hometown: | DETROIT, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 2,265 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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