Spc. Buechler's Personality

Photo By Spc. Matthew H. Oda | Spc. Buechler and his wife Amanda and third-grade daughter Morgan in Yankton, S.D. (Photo provided by Amanda Buechler)  

02.08.2010

Story by Spc. Matthew H. Oda 

Joint Force Headquarters - Wyoming National Guard

Kuwait - Deploying for the first time in his Army career, Spc. Robert Buechler, fire direction control specialist for the multiple launch rocket system, is learning valuable skills to take home while he works as part of the security force at the Sea Port of Debarkation site in Kuwait. The SPOD is where all the equipment, supplies, and vehicles for mobilized units are shipped to theater. Buechler is responsible for making sure only authorized people and equipment are allowed to get on the SPOD.

"We search all the equipment to look for contraband and check everyone's I.D. Basically, we are the security of the SPOD, keeping it secure and safe," said Buechler.

Even though he joined the guard in May 2008, Buechler is still the new guy of the unit. He is in 3rd Platoon, C Battery, 1-147 Field Artillery, South Dakota Army National Guard.

"His workmanship abilities are outstanding," said Staff Sgt. James Meyer, Buechler's squad leader. "He takes his orders and drives on to excel with whatever his task may be. It can be anything like moving a pile of dirt. He will turn it into a pile of gold by the way he handles it," he added.

On orders for deployment since April, Buechler spent a couple months training at Fort Hood, Texas, and arrived in Kuwait about two months ago.

"It's not too bad. I've heard a lot of stories from friends of mine who have been deployed before and veterans in the battery who have been to Iraq," said Buechler. "They were telling me stories of how hot it is and what the people and land features are like. I had a pretty good idea from all that but it's nothing compared to when you first experience it yourself. When we landed here and stepped off the plane, it was like walking into a convection oven! It was just hot and windy I've never felt anything like it before it's definitely an eye opener," he said.

After work, Buechler likes to workout and run with a group of friends he has made while in Kuwait.

"We have a lot of fun challenging each other," said 36-year-old Buechler. "It's fun because we keep each other motivated and push each other so it becomes a competition between us. We lift a lot and do a lot of running to help pass the time," he added.

Buechler also loves to speak with his wife Amanda every night through Skype, an internet video chat service. On occasion, he also gets to speak to his daughter Morgan from his previous marriage. Being able to speak to his family makes being deployed easier.

"Eight o'clock p.m. here is noon back home so my wife's boss was good enough to let her talk with me during that noon hour at work," said Buechler. "Once a week, my ex would drop off my daughter at my wife's place and I usually get to speak with my daughter on Skype as well and hear about what she learned during the last week of school. I was surprised at how easy it was to communicate with family back home, which made it a lot easier to cope with being deployed," he said with a smile on his face.

Being newlyweds, Buechler and Amanda plan on celebrating their first anniversary a little early in the month of Feb. while he's home for R&R. They plan on celebrating their honeymoon when the deployment is finished because they didn't get a chance to have one due to the mobilization. Amanda's birthday and Valentine's Day are both in the month of February so they plan on consolidating everything into one big celebration.

"Feb. 1st is her birthday, and then you know of course there's Valentine's Day, followed by our anniversary on the 28th, so in that two-week period [R&R] we are just going to celebrate those three things at once," said Buechler. "When this deployment is done, we plan on taking our honeymoon in the Florida Keys. We wanted to go somewhere warm and exotic and somewhat close to the country," explained Buechler.

As a police officer back home for the past 11-1/2 years with the Yankton Police Department, Buechler is the senior patrolman, taking the responsibility when the supervisor is not around.

"It's a pretty demanding job, but I like it because it's challenging and there's always something to do, although it's not as glamorous as what you see on T.V.," said Buechler. "It also helped me prepare for the military because the police is a paramilitary force. There is a chief of Police and an assistant, and then there's squads headed by a sergeant, then a corporal, who are both in charge of officers. We have inspections just like we have in the military and carry firearms," he said.

With new ways of searching vehicles and building, and different perspectives I've gained from the Army, I can apply them to my job as a police officer. We get so set in our ways on how we are going to search things at home that I can say, 'well hey this is what I learned in the Army, how about we try and do it this way?'" he added.

"His prior experience as a cop really helped him transition well into the military," said Sgt. Clay Simonsen, Buechler's team leader. "He's very focused, self driven, and pays attention to detail very well," he added.

Back home when he's not working, he likes to play the guitar, spend time with friends, do some yard work, and go to the family farm about 25 miles north of Yankton and help out there.

"I have these roses that use to belong to my grandmother up at the farm and when she passed on, I transplanted them to my place in Yankton and spend a lot of time with them, trying to keep them living because they hold sentimental value to me," explained Buechler. "They are kind of an unusual rose, with an off white color and pink stripes on them like a candy cane. My wife has been taking care of them all summer, and when we chat using Skype she holds the computer so I can see them. They're all looking good, so I know she's doing a good job," he said with a proud look on his face.

• Date Taken: 02.08.2010
• Date Posted: 02.08.2010 01:32
• Story ID: 45061