Photo By Master Sgt. Lynette Hoke | Sgt. Matthew Dobias, a native of Brainerd, Minn., and other Soldiers of the 851st...... read more read more
Subscribe
CROATIA - Many Guardsmen are full-time students or parents, have demanding careers or have a small business to juggle. For one Minnesota Army National Guard non-commissioned officer, the demand of managing his dream of being an entrepreneur hasn’t stopped him from serving in the Army.
“I love what I do in the entertainment industry and I love having the freedom that comes with owning your own business,” said Sgt. Matthew Dobias, carpenter/masonry specialist with the 851st Vertical Engineer Company who also runs his own DJ business in the civilian world. I also love being able to serve with a great group of people in the Guard.”
Recently, Dobias has traded the beating of the DJ music bass for the beating of a hammer. He and 30 other members of his unit traveled to Croatia for three weeks to help in a humanitarian civic assistance project. The HCA was made possible by the Office of Defense Cooperation, U.S. European Command and a partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb. The Soldiers will partner with members of the Croatian army’s Armored Mechanize Brigade to rebuild the roof and damage to a community center ruined by flooding in the area last May.
“I have enjoyed being able to come to the area, help a community in need and experience the culture,” said Dobias. “It’s been an amazing experience being able to learn new trades by the members of the Croatian army as well as being able to meet with the members of the community here.”
Dobias and other members of his unit have been putting in 12-15 hour days since they arrived to ensure the project gets done on time. They have had to become resilient to overcoming problems, communicating with a language barrier, as well as adapting to the metric system, a method of measurement not as common in the U.S. and to many of the Soldiers working on the project.
“Everyone has been working together really well,” said Dobias, a native of Baxter, Minnesota. “I would definitely volunteer again for a mission like this.”
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2015 11:58 |
| Story ID: | 168921 |
| Location: | HR |
| Hometown: | BAXTER, MN, US |
| Hometown: | BRAINERD, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Soldier Story - Sgt. Matthew Dobias, by MSgt Lynette Hoke, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT