Photo By Jacob Boyer | Staff Sgt. Bret Klatt, a civil affairs team sergeant, helps Spc. Adam Engel, a civil...... read more read more
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FORT McCOY, Wis. - Many brides-to-be would be upset if their fiancees returned from Army Reserve training and told them they had more Army commitments that would keep them from helping with the wedding planning.
Spc. Adam Engel, a civil affairs specialist with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion in Rochester, N.Y., competing in the 2012 Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wis., said his wife, Gina, had the opposite reaction as he returned victorious from three levels of best warrior contests. The last win made him the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command's representative here.
“I don't get excited about this stuff. She does that for me. She's more pumped and telling everybody with ears how excited she is that I'm moving on,” said Engel, who married Gina May 27.
Engel's calls to his wife after each win came with trepidation, he said, because he knew another competition and the training that went along with it would keep him away from planning their nuptials. But every time he called, Gina was excited for him and told him she would take care of the wedding work.
“I kept promising her that I'd help with the wedding planning stuff as soon as I was done with these competitions, and then I'd win the next one,” he said. “It worked out that we had the best wedding ever and I was able to continue doing this stuff.”
Gina's support for her husband's Army Reserve career amidst a hectic wedding schedule is even more significant considering that wedding was delayed a year. Her husband, a native of Webster, N.Y., joined the 401st in January 2011 and spent the following summer in basic training.
“We were supposed to get married last May, but I was in the front leaning rest at the time, so we had to push it back to this year,” he said. “But when it was completely my decision to make, she said we'd make it work.”
Engel said their lives have been hectic since he completed his initial entry training. He works as an assistant manager at GameStop and a security guard for Wilmorite Management Group, a property firm in Rochester. His wife works 40 hours and teaches dance four nights a week.
In addition to weeklong competitions with the 401st, the 352nd Civil Affairs Command and USACAPOC, Engel attended the Warrior Leader Course and Combatives Level 1 during the spring. Win or lose, the Engels are looking to settle into a more regular pattern after this competition.
“Our life after this is finally going to get to the point where we can take a step back and collect ourselves,” he said. “Since October, we've been looking forward to this. Both of our lives are slowing down and we can finally be a married couple.”
In addition to two jobs and the Army Reserve, Engel is working to become a police officer in the Rochester area. He said the training he has received in the Army has been valuable in all of his civilian endeavors.
“When I'm managing, I learned to keep my cool and realize what is a big deal and what's not,” he said. “In my security job, I had to chase a guy down and hold him down until the deputies arrived. I literally had him in the mount. It was pretty cool. I might have done something similar, but not as well without the training.”
Even though the Engels look forward to life calming down, he came to Fort McCoy to show he's the best soldier in the Army Reserve.
“I don't get excited a lot. I just like to do my thing, study and get ready, but I'm really getting pumped up,” he said. “I'm here to win.”
| Date Taken: | 07.14.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2012 08:22 |
| Story ID: | 91568 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Hometown: | WEBSTER, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 412 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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