Photo By Chief Warrant Officer James Marchetti | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah F. Diaz, the noncommissioned officer in charge of a...... read more read more
Subscribe
LOP BURI PROVINCE, Thailand - Mentoring is U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah F. Diaz’s craft.
Whether donning his Army Combat Uniform, serving his role as a noncommissioned officer and teaching his soldiers the intricacies of construction in far-reaching corners of the world; or wearing a set of slacks with a collared shirt, providing the building blocks of knowledge to his 4th grade students at Harry S. Truman Elementary School in Santa Rita, Guam — Diaz challenges himself every day to be the go-to-guy.
“I believe that everybody out there needs to play their role and do their job,” said Diaz, who is participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2015 as the NCO in charge of a detachment of soldiers from 797th Engineer Company (Vertical), based out of the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Barrigada, Guam. “I have to get my work done because if I don’t, nobody’s going to do it for me.”
Diaz joined the Army as a plumber in September 1997 to acquire skills that would also earn him a living in the civilian sector. His service over the years has brought him to Japan, Iraq, Korea, Kuwait, the Philippines and now to the village of Ban Nhong-Plong, located in Chai Badan District, Lop Buri Province, Thailand, in support of CG15.
“I needed to join the Army as a challenge – to do something different,” explained Diaz, a Barrigada native. “I always saw a lot of soldiers around Guam; a lot of my colleagues were joining, including my brother, and it inspired me to put in some of my years toward my island and to contribute to my country.”
“The Army changes your lifestyle,” he added. “As I’ve gone through training over the years in different countries, it’s given me a different perspective on how we live in the U.S., and how obliged we are to give back to other countries that help us stay safe and promote peace.”
During a strenuous tour to Iraq in 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Diaz began to re-evaluate his role in the Army, as well as his reasoning for staying in.
“When my company brought me back in 2005, I decided that I needed to put in more years for them and give back to the Soldiers that brought me back alive,” said Diaz, a man whose strong, proud, yet silent presence speaks volumes toward his endured hardships. “I only stayed in at that point to give back as much as I could to my Soldiers.”
Diaz forwent the commissioned officer route in 2006 after graduating from the University of Guam with a degree in elementary education, electing instead to continue his career as an enlisted Soldier and begin his second as an educator.
Although the jobs are vastly different in terms of scope, Diaz believes that the techniques applied in both coincide to some degree. The organization and time management skills that he uses in order to teach his students most effectively also improves his prowess as an NCO. When he is on the clock with his troops he always discovers new ways to teach his students and relate his experiences in the classroom.
“When I first started off teaching that was also life-changing,” said Diaz. “I started seeing how the school system works and how the teaching occupation is a lot different than anything else, much like being in the Army.”
“Sometimes I tie the two together and act like an NCO when I’m teaching,” he chuckled. “Which isn’t always a good thing, but they go hand-in-hand most of the time.”
As a full-time teacher and Soldier Reservist, Diaz doesn’t get much time for leisure. The weekends he spends out of uniform are usually reserved for preparing lesson plans, and a portion of his summers off are devoted to annual Reserve training.
Over the years, he has come to realize that work ethic and discipline are what he must put in on a daily basis to feel fulfilled in his duties. By running that extra mile for his junior Soldiers, he hopes that they will come to understand the importance of these intangibles and begin to incorporate them into their own lives.
“I always tell my guys you can never be too safe; you can never learn enough or work as hard as you possibly can in order to be ready for that next challenge that the Army is going to throw at you,” said Diaz. “Teaching is something else. I chose the 4th grade because I have these kids at an age which, I believe, they start becoming who they are when they grow up. Their discipline begins at elementary school.”
When Diaz’s work is done at Ban Nhong-Plong, the village’s elementary school will be left with a brand new cafeteria on behalf of the combined effort of Royal Thai, Chinese and the 797th’s military engineers.
As he plays a part in and witnesses the small progressions that are made every day, Diaz’s teacher-intuition kicks in. While others see the checklist of tasks dwindle and feel relief, he visualizes the capabilities that will be provided to the teachers and relishes the fact that he and his troops are creating opportunities for educational empowerment.
“After serving around the world, I realized that not a lot of children have the privileges we do, so helping out with this project is really something,” said Diaz. “I see the little difference every day. Helping out with the electricity and the surges; a building like this can really help out with the management of a school. If there aren’t enough teachers and maintenance support then, by us solving these issues for them, the teachers can focus more on their teaching and have more time with their students.”
“The building can also serve as a stage where the whole school can fit in and have assemblies,” he continued. “It will bring the whole school closer together because every now and then it’s important to bring everyone together and tie in what everybody’s learned at different grade levels.”
With 18 years of service already under his belt, Diaz asserted that he’s still in it for the long-haul. In fulfilling his duyt to his country, he believes he brings more to the table as an educator, and isn’t ready to relinquish his role as a Soldier quite yet.
“In these 30 days I’ll create another experience that I can relate back to my students,” explained Diaz. “We learn from books, books come from our experiences - and if we don’t have those experiences, we can’t give them the details of what’s going on around the world right now.”
“If our students only learn from the past, they’re not going to know about the future - especially if we as teachers don’t know anything about the present.”
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2015 08:20 |
| Story ID: | 154603 |
| Location: | LOP BURI PROVINCE, TH |
| Hometown: | BARRIGADA, GU |
| Web Views: | 534 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Molding the Future on All Fronts: Teacher-Soldier Jeremiah F. Diaz, by CW2 James Marchetti, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT