Photo By Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke | ZAGAN, Poland – Soldiers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,...... read more read more
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ZAGAN, Poland – When Staff Sgt. Tomasz Sobota moved from Bytom, Poland, to the United States 11 years ago in pursuit of a better way of life for his family, he never imagined coming back in a U.S. Army uniform let alone being approached for autographs.
Yet the infantryman has returned to Poland twice in the past year with the 4th Infantry Division, and his intimate knowledge of the language and culture has proved invaluable to his units. It’s also made him a celebrity of sorts to Polish media and the communities he’s worked in while with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, which kicked off the first few months of its nine-month rotation under Operation Atlantic Resolve here.
“When I first moved to the U.S., I really wanted to join the U.S. Army. But that was like a dream,” said Sobota, an operations sergeant with the brigade’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
“I never thought that I would know English well enough to work in the military, but dreams come true from time to time,” said Sobota, who moved to the United States with his wife, Justyna, when he was 26.
That dream has taken him to Zagan, where he’s served as both interpreter and ambassador for 3/4 ABCT (the “Iron Brigade”) just a few hours from the place he grew up.
Sobota was hand selected for the brigade’s Atlantic Resolve mission, where relationship building among NATO militaries is at the heart of training together to build multinational cohesion.
“Sobota was actually in 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher D. Gunn, the senior enlisted advisor for 3/4 ABCT. “When they did the multinational exercise Anakonda 16 last year in Poland, he worked for the commanding general of 4th ID as his interpreter.”
Once Gunn caught wind of Sobota’s background, he made a call to get the infantryman on board with the Iron Brigade.
“When I made that phone call to the brigade command sergeant major, he immediately said Sobota’s name. He told me that he was wondering how long it would take me to call about Sobota,” said Gunn.
Since arriving with the 3/4 ABCT to western Poland in January, Sobota has traveled with brigade leadership across the country, assisting during meetings with key Polish leaders.
“He immediately knocked things out of the park,” Gunn said of Sobota, who enlisted in the Army at the age of 28, two years after leaving Poland and first working as a truck driver in Chicago.
Gunn said the 3/4 ABCT has utilized other interpreters, but Polish people instantly connected with Sobota because he was a homegrown U.S. Soldier who spoke the language fluently.
“He’s in the military and understands our mindset of what we are trying to achieve here,” said Gunn.
“Sobota is well-known and well-respected in the area,” Gunn added. “He’s become our poster child. When we first got here, I introduced him to Maj. Gen. Jarosław Mika, the commanding general from the Polish army here at Zagan. He immediately looked at his nametag and told him that he had a Polish name. Sobota responded in Polish and told him that he was from Poland.”
Sobota said that encounter was common.
“For the first three months I was working with the command group as their interpreter. Whenever they had to go and talk to a Polish officer, they allowed me to assist because I had the security clearance and language proficiency to translate for them.”
But his reputation extended to the community as well. Once the media learned about his story, they flocked to the Soldier for interviews.
Bearing a quiet demeanor, being in the spotlight hasn’t come naturally, but he said he considers it his duty to show that U.S. service members in Poland not only are glad to be here, but they want to be part of the community.
With his face and name in the news, he’s been caught off guard on occasions when Polish people ask for his autograph and want to take photos with him.
“I’m just grateful we’ve been welcomed here so warmly. People are glad we’re here serving in their defense,” Sobota said.
Sobota carries a selfless humility so common of the Polish people that 3/4 ABCT Soldiers have encountered.
“He will work all day, then go out to town and help Soldiers interact with the people,” said Gunn. “Sometimes I have to remind him that he needs to relax and take care of himself. He’s always on the go and dedicated to our mission here.”
He did take some time to visit his parents for a weekend in February, returning to Bytom, about an hour west of Krakow.
“I never imagined returning to Poland while representing my new country. I was surprised in a positive way when I was coming back for the second time with 4th ID. I feel like I am doing something important here,” said Sobota.
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2017 08:44 |
| Story ID: | 228286 |
| Location: | ZAGAN, PL |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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