Photo By Spc. Tobey White | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Beck, a service and recovery non-commissioned officer in...... read more read more
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Not many people can find a silver lining in having their apartment burn down, but U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Beck, a service and recovery non-commissioned officer in charge with B Company, 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, and a native of Blackfoot, Idaho, saw it as an opportunity to join the Army full time.
Beck got a call right before Christmas in 1998 telling him his apartment was on fire. He arrived to see smoke pouring out of it and his wife and children standing outside, he said.
While trying to salvage what was left, he kept thinking that it might be time to go active duty. He’d joined the Army two years before as a reservist with the intention of getting college money and getting a head start in life, Beck said.
In the Army Reserves, he’d found a job he liked when he actually got to do his job, he said.
When he found a melted phone among the remains of the house he was surprised to hear a dial tone. The only button that worked was zero and he was able to talk to an operator who transferred him to a recruiting office.
“I said, ‘Hey, I’m standing in the middle of my burnt down apartment. How soon can you get me active duty?” Beck said.
A month later he went active and packed his family up and was heading down to Fort Hood, Texas.
Since that fateful phone call he has been stationed at many different places including: Fort Hood, Korea, Fort Bliss, Texas, Fort Lewis, Wash., Fort Jackson S.C., and Fort Knox, Ky. He has been deployed three times.
For his current deployment, he is in charge of supervising recovery missions, welding and machinist work, Beck said.
“We get all sorts of weird requests,” Beck said. “We stay busy from morning to night welding and fabricating.”
It can be a physically intense job as temperatures soar into the hundreds during summer months. He has to make sure his soldiers are drinking water and eating enough, he said.
“It’s like walking around in MOPP 4 gear all the time,” Beck said.
The journey to being a Big Red One soldier started when his last unit asked for non-commissioned officers willing to transfer to Fort Knox and deploy. Beck was one of the first to raise his hand.
“It’s kind of fun over here,” he said.
Over the next few years of his career before he retires, he plans to be deployed as much as possible.
“You wind up broadening your horizons in this job,” he said.
Once he retires, he plans to put all his life experience to good use by teaching automotive tech at the high school or collegiate level through the Troops to Teachers program, Beck said.
Whatever the future brings, he plans to enjoy the rest of his deployment and continue supporting the brigade by providing critical skills and products to the fight.
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2011 01:44 |
| Story ID: | 72797 |
| Location: | KHOWST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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