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SACRAMENTO, Calif.--“I was 10 years old when my uncle took me to
see an air show by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds at
Travis Air Force Base,” remembered Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Matthews,
now 38. “We passed through the entrance to the base and I saw the
gate guards all dressed up and looking sharp in their uniforms. Just
the way they waved us on, I knew I wanted to join the military.”
Both Matthews' parents served in the military, further
solidifying his interest in donning a uniform, and at age 17 he
visited a local recruiting office. U.S. forces had recently been
involved in action in Iraq, Kuwait and Bosnia, but Matthews'
patriotism was overshadowed by another common motivation for young
people to sign on the dotted line.
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Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Matthews, in front, manages the G1
Administration/Personnel platoon at the California Military
Department's headquarters on June 1, 2012. (Courtesy Photo)
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“I joined because I needed a job and maybe start a
career,” he said. “So I took the test and the recruiter
offered me jobs as a refueler, an engineer or air and
missile defense. The last one intrigued me so I signed up to
be an Avenger crew member.”
The Avenger is an air
defense weapon system that includes Stinger missile launcher
pods and a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on a modified
heavy High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
“It
was a wake-up call,” Matthews said recently, laughing as he
recalled his initial training in 1992. “Coming from a
single-parent family, I wasn't used to being told what to
do, how to do it and when and where to be all the time.
This, of course, being shouted in my face from a huge drill
sergeant, was very intimidating. I adjusted over time, and
in the end it was well worth it.”
After three years
on active duty, Matthews had earned his sergeant's stripes,
but he felt nothing compelled him to stay at his duty
stations of Fort Lewis, Wash., and Fort Polk, La. So at age
20, he headed home to Vacaville, Calif., and took criminal
justice courses at a community college, thinking that would
be his next challenge in life.
But a flurry of action
that year would change his life forever.
“I missed
the military after being out for a short period,” he said.
“I spotted a flyer on campus for the California Army
National Guard. I didn't know they existed, but I liked the
idea a lot. I joined the 100th Troop Command in Fairfield,
and a few years later applied for a full-time counterdrug
position and was hired. However, the job was in El Centro on
the border.”
Matthews uprooted his life and moved
more than 600 miles to Calexico. While there, in 1994, his
first daughter, Brianna, was born.
Matthews moved
back up north and bounced around in different Army
positions, even turning in his Avenger badge in 1997 to
retrain as an infantryman for 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry
Regiment, in Auburn. Then in 1998 he accepted an Active
Guard and Reserve job and again retrained, this time as a
human resource specialist.
Arianna, his second
daughter, was born that same year, and two years later he
married Melissa, whom he had met at church. Melissa was also
in the military, working with an active duty recruiting
battalion in administration, and had a daughter of her own,
Keya.
In 2001, Matthews joined the ranks of the 115th
Regional Support Group out of Roseville, serving as the
group's full-time training noncommissioned officer (NCO). In
the same year he added another milestone.
“I had my
third daughter, Kaylyn,” Matthews said nonchalantly. “Yep, I
now have Brianna, Arianna, Keya, and now Kaylyn.”
In
2005 he deployed to Kuwait as the readiness NCO for the
115th. The unit was in charge of rolling out the red carpet
for troops entering the Iraq and Afghanistan combat zones.
They also were the pat-on-the-back and check-the-box
processors for troops returning stateside. They managed
facilities and lodging like landlords and were gracious
hosts to the multitude of international forces surging back
and forth battling terrorism.
With four daughters
and a wife to worry about, Matthews wondered how his
deployment would affect his family. But Melissa was his
rock, that key weapon he needed in his arsenal.
“She
joined the California National Guard in 2004 and was able to
get hired full-time. We knew one of us could deploy,” he
said. “When I got the word, I felt worried about the whole
situation but knew my duty was to go. Because of what I had
been through and how the Guard was always there to look
after me and my family, I was so appreciative of what they
have done, it was an honor to return the favor.”
While he was gone, Matthews badly missed his family, but in
a different way than most troops nowadays, since the
revolution of social media and video chatting.
“It
was strange not seeing them,” he said. “We didn't have Skype
or other ways I could see my family, so we emailed, chatted
live and wrote letters. Six months in, I took leave for two
weeks and came home. That was a short two weeks.”
After 15 months away, he returned to his wife and squad of
children. Since then he has worked with the 49th Human
Resources Company and played an important role in deploying
12-person teams to conduct reception, replacement,
return-to-duty, rest and recuperation, and redeployment
operations in Iraq and Kuwait. Later he joined the Guard's
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, which once again gave
him the opportunity to help other soldiers and their
families connect with community support before, during and
after deployments.
Throughout all his station and
duty changes, Matthews has taken his job, career and service
very seriously.
“I love this country,” he said. “The
idea that I can lace up my boots, put on a uniform with the
American flag and serve and defend it makes me feel like I'm
providing a vital role.
“We all want something better
for our children, and if I can do something about that today
so they can have a better tomorrow, then I will.”
Having the support of one's family is critical throughout a
veteran's career. Being married to someone who also serves
is, well, interesting.
“It has its ups and downs.
Well, let me make sure I have my words correct,” Matthews
laughed. “On one hand, she gets it. She understands the time
needed to be away from home, like for a deployment, school
or long training drill. So a lot of what other couples have
to explain to each other, we don't for the most part. That
is a huge weight off our shoulders.”
But it isn't all
easy.
“On the other hand, we were almost always in
uniform together,” he says with a smile. “We had very little
decompressing from all things military.”
As Matthews
closes in on retirement, he is looking back at what has
brought him through the past two decades and what it means
to be a veteran.
“I'll miss all this. The military is
all I know, and it will be a sad exit,” he said. “I've met
some amazing people and wish I would have kept better
contact. I've enjoyed mentoring young leaders when I saw the
opportunity. I feel I have been through enough to provide
guidance and be a positive role model.”
He added that
the support of his community was always greatly important to
him.
“For me it was always a ‘Thank you' or ‘How can
we help?' that made me feel people were aware of our job and
sacrifices,” he said. “Not being forgotten with all that is
going on meant a lot. We miss so much and can't get those
days back, but at the same time I am proud of my
contribution to battling the war on terrorism.”
Kaylyn, his youngest, calls him her hero. For a father of
four that means the world to him.
By U.S. Army National Guard Master Sgt. Paul Wade
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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