Soldier Profile: Spc. Tamara Matas

Photo By Sgt. George Welcome | Spc. Tamara Matas, a human resources specialist with 6th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, stands in front of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Matas is currently deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

08.11.2008

Story by Sgt. George Welcome 

101st Combat Aviation Brigade

By Spc. George Welcome
101st Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - An old Army recruiting advertisement used to claim that, "There are over 250 ways to be a Soldier." With the country in its seventh year waging a global war on terror, each Soldier's contribution is vital to the continued freedom of the nation regardless of the jobs they do, or their reasons for choosing them.

One Soldier in the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade left her home in the beautiful island-state of Hawaii to see what she could achieve in the Army.

"I joined the Army because I wished to travel around the world and have money for college. I didn't exactly want to travel all the way to Afghanistan, but that's why they say be careful what you wish for," joked Spc. Tamara Matas, of Headquarters Company, 6th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.

Matas, a native of Pearl City, Hawaii, has been in the Army for two years and works as a 42 A, Human Resources Specialist with Task Force Shadow. Her job is to maintain Soldiers' personnel files, which includes maintaining promotion and awards files and dealing with pay issues.

"I picked this job because it seemed the most interesting," she said. "Plus being a 42, you can go anywhere. The best thing about this job is you get to know and meet a lot of people. I like to help Soldiers and being able to help make sure they [the Soldiers] are good, making sure their pay is straight, making sure they get their awards on time. It makes me feel better when I am able to fix an issue."

To the uninformed, Soldiers who work in the human resources cell may not look very busy, but they work diligently everyday to make sure Soldiers' personnel issues are taken care of. A Soldier who is having pay issues or discrepancies on their Enlisted Records Brief probably isn't as effective as he or she could be at work. The 42s make sure that such problems don't arise, and fix them if they do.

"People think that we don't do much all day or just sit at the computer. But we are so swamped with work," Matas explained, dispelling some misconceptions people may have about working in human resources. "The only kind of day off we have is Sunday, and even that is used to catch up on work. We have a lot going on, with all the awards and promotions we have to get done, so we're pretty busy all the time." When she's not at work handling Soldier issues, Matas enjoys spending her free time dancing, an activity she has been involved in since she was a child.

"I love to dance," she exclaimed. "Every since I was little I've loved to dance. Growing up in Hawaii you are surrounded with hula, and one day my mom got me into hula dancing and I haven't stopped. I went back and forth between hula and hip-hop dancing. I've learned how to salsa since being here, and I want to learn tap and swing dancing. I want to do a little of every kind of dance. I was part of the 'Praise and Worship' dance team, but I had to stop because my shift changed. Right now I am practicing for the upcoming dance talent show in October."

When her time here in Afghanistan is completed, Matas hopes to have watched her fellow Soldiers become successful, and to have become a better person herself.

"I just want to see everybody [Soldiers] succeed," she said of her time here in Afghanistan. "A lot of what we do involves people getting promoted and getting awards. Just as easy as it is for someone to get promoted, a person can lose it just as easily and I hate seeing that happen."

"One of my personal goals was to try and gain more patience. I'm still trying," she quipped. "That, and just trying to better myself. Being here makes me realize all the little things I miss, like spending more time with my little brothers and sister. At the time, you don't think about it, but you realize that those are the most important things."

• Date Taken: 08.11.2008
• Date Posted: 08.11.2008 22:53
• Story ID: 22376
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF