CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – For Sgt. Joshua Taborsky, cavalry scout, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, a life of service began more than seven years ago.
The Wichita, Kansas, native was studying computer-aided drafting at ITT Technical Institute in his sophomore year, when he was forced to decide whether to continue with school or drop out and take care of his wife, who was pregnant with their first child.
“I didn’t want to drop out of school, but I needed to get a full-time job to take care of my family,” Taborsky said.
Taborsky decided to leave college and said he worked for several companies for low wages that offered no upward mobility or security.
“Every time I interviewed for positions with better pay and family medical coverage, I was told I needed a degree or
more work experience,” he said.
“I began to get very frustrated, but I refused to give up because I had a family to take care of.”
On Aug. 16, 2007, Joshua walked into a recruiting office and inquired about enlisting in the Army.
“I didn’t know what job I wanted to do, but I told the recruiter I wanted a job that would challenge me on a daily
basis,” he said.
The Soldier said the day he departed for initial training was one of the best days of his life.
“I was excited about him joining the Army and us starting a new chapter in our lives,” said Joshua’s wife, Genie. “I was happy and terrified at the same time because we were about to make a drastic change in our lives.”
Pamela and Jerry Taborsky, Joshua’s parents, said they were not happy about Joshua’s decision to join the Army because the country was at war, but they supported him.
Joshua said he has worked to be a good leader and make a difference in the lives of other Soldiers.
He also said he enjoys mentoring young, impressionable Soldiers.
“Being a cavalry scout noncommissioned officer, you are charged with not only leading Soldiers, but providing them with direction and purpose,” he said.
First Lt. Rebecca Kratz, administrative officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt., 1st
ABCT, said Joshua was good at his job and worked way above his current pay grade.
Genie, a native of Blair, Nebraska, said she was proud of her husband’s selfless service and his desire to help others.
“The past almost eight years of marriage has been a challenge, but has taught us a lesson in life and marriage,” Genie said. “We need each other.”