Photo By Capt. Hector Rene Membreno-Canales | Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Sabiniewicz, logistics noncommissioned officer in charge, 1st...... read more read more
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DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland - It took 15 years for his dream to come true.
Ever since he joined the U.S. Army in May 1999, Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Sabiniewicz has wanted to work with the Polish army.
He joined the American ranks when he was living in Poland. He was 19 at the time, and his military journey has brought him full circle thanks to Operation Atlantic Resolve.
Operation Atlantic Resolve fulfills the United States’ commitment to the collective security of NATO allies and European security. During the operation, Sabiniewicz served as the logistics noncommissioned officer in charge for his unit. He was primarily responsible for coordinating transportation, contracting and other logistical support in Poland for the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. His secondary responsibilities often became his primary ones: being an interpreter between the Polish and Americans.
Sabiniewicz was born in Chicago, where lived until he was eight. His parents were born in Poland and moved to Chicago in the 1960’s. They decided to return to Poland in 1987 and moved to Poznan while the anti-communist Solidarity movement was at its peak.
It would take another two years for the movement to bring down the communist government, and Sabiniewicz rememberd the differences between Chicago and his new home as shocking to an 8-year-old boy and his brothers, but the communist government was still in charge. Solidarity was an anti-Soviet trade union that resulted in bringing down the communist government in 1989.
“It was a huge culture shock moving from Chicago where everything was readily available and then we get to Poland where as a family you had to wait in line three to five hours to get any kind of groceries. Many articles were rationed, like meat, milk, stuff like that.” Sabiniewicz said. “A family of five rationed two kilos of meat a week. Other items, sometimes, we had to drive several hours out of town to get a pound of sugar.”
He and his brothers didn't speak Polish when they left the states. English was their primary language.
“We understood Polish. Our parents tried their best to teach us Polish. We understood everything they said and being rebellious kids we just didn't speak back in Polish. That all changed obviously when we moved to Poland and nobody could speak English, especially back in 1987. It was a forcing factor, in June and July we went from not speaking at all to being fluent pretty quickly,” said Sabiniewicz.
After Sabiniewicz graduated from high school, he tried to become a Polish officer. To join, candidates go through a string of medical tests over a period of two days.
“I went through a series of doctors and the last one was a cardiologist. He detected something and disqualified me from any sort of service in the Polish military.”
Since he held dual citizenship, he decided to travel to the Military Entry Processing Station in Hanau, Germany, to see if he could enlist in the U.S. Army instead.
“They detected the defect, but said it didn't disqualify me from enlisting.”
He was able to enlist as a unit supply specialist and got on a plane for basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia.
“It felt sad, to be honest. I left my parents, siblings and best friends at the age of 19 to pursue a career on a distant continent, knowing I may not see them for years. I had no one and no family on the other end. Hence I had to embrace my new Army family,” said Sabiniewicz
Early in his career, Gregory was assigned to U.S. Army Europe in Germany, where he met his wife, but never worked with Polish troops.
It wasn't until this past February, during an airborne operation in Grafenwoehr, that he was able to use his Polish language skills in an official capacity.
“This is something I've been wanting to do this whole time, [to] use my other skill other than logistics, which is speaking Polish to the fullest capacity, and here I am, which is as corny as it sounds, a dream come true … I've been dreaming of working or speaking Polish or working with Polish army, and just never had the opportunity.”
Sabiniewicz's most regular interaction with the Polish was to ensure the local bus drivers understood where to take the American Soldiers for their training. He attended a weekly meeting with the logistics group that oversees the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, the largest NATO training area in Europe.
“I keep fluent by keeping in touch with my family. Especially now being stationed so close. I have learned a bunch of new military specific terms in Polish, though,” said Sabiniewicz.
He was often called upon to interpret for the commander of the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area and the Mayor of Drawsko Pomorskie, his squadron leadership, American F-16 pilots, his leadership while guests of the Polish at an air show in Swidwin and at the commemoration ceremony of the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising in Drawsko Pomorskie.
One of Sabiniewicz's more regular meetings was a three-times-a-week logistical sync meeting among the Polish, Canadian and U.S. Army. Polish army Maj. Artur Prabucki, chief of logistics for the 16th Garrison Support Unit, chaired the meeting and Sabiniewicz served as the interpreter.
“Our cooperation was at a high level. Whatever he needed I knew exactly what he wanted and when. He was a very exact man. I was very happy by our cooperation with Mr. Sabiniewicz he was very good.” Prabucki continued, “thanks to him things were very easy because he spoke Polish very good … if possible, I'd love him to come back here.”
Sgt. 1st Class David Cheney, operations noncommissioned officer in charge for the 1st Sqdrn., 91st Cav. Reg., 173rd Abn. Bde. met Sabiniewicz about two months before they deployed to Poland together.
“We call Sgt. 1st Class Sabiniewicz a 'ranger buddy.' That means he'll bend over backwards to help out. Any question we had about Poland, he knew it. He built so many more relationships between Americans and Polish than we ever expected when we got to Poland. And he was more than happy to do it,” Cheney said.
During an airborne operation, Sabiniewicz coordinated with the Drawsko Pomorskie fire department to place a boat on a lake near the drop zone.
“If we didn't have him, none of us probably would have thought about it, much less been able to coordinate the coverage,” Cheney said.
“I think it’s been the highlight of his military career. He is completely in his comfort zone being in his native country, speaking the language, and still being able to do his job as a Soldier. Whenever he talks about it, he displays so much joy. It’s also nice to see him get recognized for all of his hard work, because he truly deserves it and takes pride in his job,” said his wife of 11 years, Roshell Sabiniewicz.
Sabiniewicz said that his most memorable moment was receiving a beautiful crystal plaque presented by Polish army Col. Marek Gmurski, the land forces training commandant, at a formation in front of Polish soldiers. The second was finally earning his Polish airborne wings.
Operation Atlantic Resolve brought him back to Poland for two months. The operation consists of combined training exercises with U.S., Polish, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian military forces fostering cohesive relationships and demonstrating the commitment to NATO obligations. This was the third opportunity he had to work with the Polish army; the first two were an airborne operation in Grafenwoehr and a separate exercise in May. He sees the relationship between the U.S. and Poland growing stronger.
“It shows something that's been a relationship and a partnership that's been going on for years now and it solidifies that this is the real deal. I'm not even talking about with the 173rd and the [Polish] 6th Airborne Brigade. It's two nations working together, it's a bond and a relationship that's been working together and it's not going away.”
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2014 11:13 |
| Story ID: | 140928 |
| Location: | DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, PL |
| Hometown: | POZNAN, PL |
| Hometown: | CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 626 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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