Photo By Master Sgt. Lynette Hoke | Sgt. Ryan Brattensborg helps fellow soldiers of the 851st Vertical Engineer Company...... read more read more
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CROATIA - Minnesota National Guardsmen are often taught the importance of integrity, resilience and perseverance. Many of these values are traits many soldiers and public service officers hold.
For Sgt. Ryan Brattensborg, carpentry/mansonry specialist, his desire to become a soldier was something he was looking forward to as early as high school.
“I always wanted to be a soldier when I was little, but there was no real reason,” said Sgt. Brattensborg. “I told people in high school I was going to do it and I had to stick to my word.”
Recently Brattensborg and around 30 other engineers of his unit, the 851st Vertical Engineer Company out of Camp Ripley packed their bags for a humanitarian civic assistance project with the Croatian Army in eastern Croatia. The project entails rebuilding a damaged community center for the people in the village of Račinovci, Croatia. The area was hit by six foot floods in May of 2014 and haven’t been able to use the building since.
“It’s my first time over seas and I like actually being able to use the skills that I have,” said Brattensborg, a native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. “I don’t think we are going to get deployed before I get out in two years, so it was kind of nice that we were able to go somewhere else and do something.”
All the members of the unit have been putting 12-15 hour days to try and get the job done in just a few weeks. Some of the soldiers have not worked with each other before this trip, nor have they worked with allied forces and many of them have never used the metric system prior to this mission.
“We all came from one company and we all came from different platoons,” said Sgt. Brattensborg. “This is my first time working with allied forces, the language barrier is difficult and sometimes you just have to make motions, but you get through it.”
Something else all of the members of the unit have experienced is the enormous hospitality of the local people for the work they are doing here.
“I love the food here, I really have enjoyed getting to know the people, they are really nice,” said Sgt. Brattensborg, recent graduate of University of Minnesota. “It is like nothing I have ever seen before in America. They treat you like a really close friend, even though for less than a day.”
At the end of the project, the village of Rancovic will have a new space that dates back more than 60 years. The American soldiers will walk away knowing they put their sweat and hard work into something that will be greatly appreciated and used for many more decades to come.
“I like helping people and that is the main thing I am looking for in a job, I am not looking to look back in 40 years and say I made a bunch of money,” said Brattensborg. “I am looking to look back and know I helped others and made a difference.”
| Date Taken: | 06.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2015 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 168903 |
| Location: | HR |
| Hometown: | EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Soldier Stories: Sgt. Ryan Brattensborg, by MSgt Lynette Hoke, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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