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PAKTIYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan (10/30/2012) – On a cold
fall night, a team of soldiers sit in a heated plywood
shack, telling stories and jokes until someone needs to
enter or exit the base.
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U.S. Army Pfc. Brian Wellinger Jr., from
Seminole, Fla., a quartermaster and biochemical equipment repairer
assigned to G. Company, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault),, guards the entry control point on
Forward Operating Base Lightning, Oct. 20, 2012. Wellinger is
assigned to the base security section and checks locals entering and
leaving the FOB. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael Germundson
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U.S. Army Pfc. Brian
Wellinger Jr., a base security member assigned to G Company,
3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault), works long and varied hours in
Afghanistan, so that he can provide a steady life for his
2-year-old daughter, Emma.
Wellinger, who hails from
Seminole, Fla., is a quartermaster and chemical equipment
repairer. He is trained to fix and maintain water supply
systems, but on a cold, star-filled night, he waits to
defend Forward Operating Base Lightning in the event of an
attack.
Wellinger was tired of working job to job,
and while attending college classes, his Federal Pell Grant
was cut. After Emma was born prematurely, Wellinger had to
face reality. Acting on advice from his grandmother, he made
the decision to join the Army in order to provide health
insurance and steady support for his daughter.
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“I
joined the Army for my daughter,” said Wellinger. “I didn't
have health insurance and I really wanted to do things right
for her and make sure she had everything she needed.”
“[Wellinger] is an easy-going soldier and likes to joke
around, but when it comes to work he's all business,” said
Wellinger's platoon sergeant, U.S. Army Sgt. Richard
Ellsworth, from Tuscon, Ariz., also with G. Co. “With his
shift and work environment, it breaks the ice and the
monotony of his job and makes work fun.”
Deployed in
September 2012, Wellinger began work in Afghanistan as the
summer heat was fading. The winter season will bring snow to
the mountain valley FOB, and after being raised in Ohio,
Wellinger said that he looks forward to the potential
thigh-high snow.
Wellinger joked that he would like
to build a snow man to hold his 16-pound M-249 Squad
Automatic Weapon during the long, cold shifts in the future.
“He's an all around good guy and genuine,” said
co-worker and G. Co. member, U.S. Army Spc. Brice Watson,
from Atlanta, Ga. “He looks out for people and is one of the
best Soldiers I have worked with. Any task we get, he pays
close attention to and is always meticulous. He does the job
with no complaints and drives on.”
Wellinger is
saving his hard-earned money for a trip to Walt Disney World
with Emma after he returns home from his deployment. Once
settled into a routine in the U.S., Wellinger wants to start
online college courses and eventually work as an X-ray
technician.
“I was raised by my grandmother and she
worked in the medical field as a certified nurses
assistant,” said Wellinger. “I would help her in hospice
care. I was able to see the different things she did, and
it's something I've always wanted to do.”
When asked
about his future with the Army, Wellinger said that
deploying once is what he wanted to do. If he could change
his military occupation code to an X-ray technician in the
medical field, then a re-enlistment may be in his future.
“I thought I'd give [the Army] a try and it turned out
to be much easier than I thought,” said Wellinger. “It's
provided pretty well. Health care, money and good
experience. It all goes back to my daughter, she needs me to
be here and that is why I serve.”
By Army Spc. Michael Germundson
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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