Photo By Staff Sgt. Franklin Harris | U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Angel Paz, NATO Headquarters Sarajevo (NHQSa) driver, stands on...... read more read more
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Staff Sgt. Franklin E. S. Harris Jr
2d Audiovisual Squadron
Camp Butmir, BiH - Sgt. Angel Paz, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment Infantry man, joined the military July 6th, 2015, motivated after attending his uncle’s boot camp graduation.
“From there, I was dead set on joining,” Paz said. “Just seeing him graduate on that day I could tell he was a different person; he’d always been a good guy, but he became a better man. He was my role model.”
Paz’s military career started with a 59-day infantry training battalion course before being stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. He deployed twice to Japan as a part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, both tours lasted six months. A little while after returning home from his second deployment, an opportunity for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization deployment to Bosnia and Herzegovina presented itself. Paz did not know much about NATO, but he did remember advice from one of his peers.
“Someone said if you’re ever offered a NATO deployment, take it,” Paz continued. “He didn’t say much more than that; he just wanted me to know I’d love it.”
NATO’s mission is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members. BiH is a NATO Partnership for Peace country and has a military NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, stationed on Camp Butmir (NHQSa). Their primary mission is to facilitate reform in defense and security structures of BiH, which includes coordinating NATO programs and activities. Paz decided to volunteer for the deployment and was selected. His job was to serve as a clerk and driver for Gen. Eric Folkestad, NHQSa commander. Paz provided security for the commander on and off-base. In order to complete this task as efficiently as possible, he took an anti-terrorism-evasive drivers’ course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
“The course is roughly three weeks long,” Paz said. “They teach you evasive maneuvers to do if you ever receive contact during any mission and give you a brief explanation of how it would work on a larger scale with a bigger team.”
Paz had a primary partner, Sgt. Adam Vega, NHQSa Personal Security Detail, who handled planning for the commander. The relationship between the two gave them time to bond.
“We’re like brothers. From day one I made suggestions of what we could do better, and he heard me out,” Paz added. “We have a lot of similarities, and a lot of people think we look alike, especially with us wearing masks.”
Paz arrived at Camp Butmir on February 6th, 2021, during the Coronavirus pandemic, but the mission didn’t stop. He drove the commander to various cities around BiH including Breza, Prnjavor, Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla, and Zenica. Every trip supported the commander’s engagements with ambassadors, the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers, and leadership. These engagements led to improvements on training, quality of life reforms and military improvements like the donation of four Bell UH-1 “Huey” helicopters to Air Force and Anti-Air Defense Brigade in Rajlovac.
During all of Paz’s travels as the commander’s driver, he saw religious facilities, historic monuments, and witnessed the view of cities like Sarajevo, as he stood on the hills of Trebević. He also got the opportunity to taste local foods like ćevapi, a local street food, in Doboj. Paz provided security for every trip and sometimes attended meetings and dinners hosted throughout the country. On one occasion, Josip Brkić, Deputy BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs, invited the NHQSa Commander and his support staff to Međugorje, BiH. While in the area they stopped at a local olive grove, where Paz met the owner and tried fresh olive oil.
“He said [olive oil] should have a nice acidity and burn in the back of your throat, then it’s good olive oil,” Paz said. “He had a bowl of olive oil on the table with some bread and cheese and that’s what we ate. It was good, it was really good olive oil. Now, I know how olive oil is supposed to be when I get home.”
Early on, Paz requested an extension on his deployment; six months in BiH became one year as the commander’s driver. He found he enjoyed the country, the culture and his job. Paz started to build a relationship with other local drivers in the country. These drivers served a variety of military and political figures and shared their stories with him. Paz realized that becoming a permanent driver back in the United States could be a career path for him, and he got a lot of experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Paz enjoyed the extra time in Bosnia, but every extension has its limits. He began to draft contingency binders and pack his things. He provided security and support during the Transfer of Authority from Folkestad to Gen. Pamela McGaha, the new NHQSa Commander, as a part of his last assignments before leaving. Another U.S. Marine would replace him when he left Camp Butmir, but the deployment and his support of an international organization would always be a part of his career. It is an experience that gives merit to advice he received about NATO.
“If you look at the statistics, there’s only one Marine on this camp, about five Air Force personnel, and maybe ten or so Army soldiers,” Paz explained. “So, if you plan on staying in and tell someone, ‘Oh yeah. I got a NATO deployment,’ it means something significant. Not many people get an opportunity to work with NATO.”
| Date Taken: | 12.19.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.19.2022 11:28 |
| Story ID: | 435463 |
| Location: | NATO HEADQUARTERS SARAJEVO, CAMP BUTMIR, BA |
| Web Views: | 361 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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