Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | (From left) 2nd Lts. Randy, Matt and Allen Jozwiak receive their commissions at Notre...... read more read more
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Every Soldier should have a battle buddy within his or her unit or command; someone to lend a hand through any tough time or any time it’s needed. Usually your battle buddy is someone within your squad, you might meet them at formations or during your day-to-day duties. However two Soldiers at the 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade have known their battle buddy their whole lives.
1st Lt. Allen Jozwiak, the executive officer for the 258th Movement Control Team, 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Inf. Div. Sustainment Brigade, and 1st Lt. Matt Jozwiak, Assistant Distribution Officer for the Supply Operations Cell, 3rd Inf. Div. Sust. Bde., are two brothers out of a set of triplets who are both part of the 3rd Inf. Div. Sust. Bde. The third triplet, 1st Lt. Randy Jozwiak, is an infantry platoon leader in the 3rd Battalion, 126th Inf. Regiment of the Michigan National Guard.
Growing up in Middlebury, Ind., being part of a set of triplets is “the only thing we know,” said Matt. The three always had playmates when they were young, although when they played sports together, it was usually Randy and Allen against Matt.
“I guess I was a little better,” said Matt, grinning.
Naturally, they got into some mischief when they were young, occasionally substituting each other in school.
“I won’t say which, but one of us was bad at Spanish,” said Allen, laughing, “so sometimes another one of us would switch out and take his classes for him.”
All three developed similar interests as they grew up. They all majored in History at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind., and specifically enjoyed military history, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when all three joined the Army.
“Deciding to join was an individual choice,” said Allen, “but our interests pretty much aligned, so it made sense.”
Their earlier mischief carried on into Basic Combat Training as well, as Allen and Randy, who went to training together but were placed in different companies, switched one night while both were on duty.
“It was pretty easy,” said Allen, about playing his brother for a day of BCT, “you pretty much just do what you’re told. Our bunkmates noticed the switch pretty early, but no one else did.”
The three have friendly competitions, which they say helps each other grow and develop as people and as Soldiers. For example, anytime one of them takes an Army Physical Fitness Test, they compare their scores to see whose was best. If one of them beats both of the others in all three events, they call it winning the “Triple Crown.”
The competition has always been neck-and-neck. During their time at the Reserve Officer Training Corps, Matt and Randy were very close on their APFT, and in the end Randy just beat Matt on the run. However, when awards were handed out for best APFT score, Matt’s name was called instead of Randy’s. Matt happily accepted the award, but later gave it to its rightful owner.
Despite the life-long hijinks and competition among themselves, the three remain very close, even with “It’s always good to have someone who’s had similar experiences as you,” said Allen. “We can help each other out anytime we have questions or anything about work.”
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.13.2016 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 203867 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | MIDDLEBURY, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Two out of three ain’t bad: 3rd IDSB home to two of three triplets, by MSG Ben Navratil, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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