Photo By Sgt. Clay Beyersdorfer | Honduran Infantry soldier Dania Fernandez poses in front of the BTH 2012...... read more read more
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NACO, Honduras – Two soldiers. Two different countries. Two different stories.
One a Honduran infantry soldier, the other an American engineer.
Both of them are females.
For Dania Fernandez, an infantry soldier with the 3rd Infantry Battalion in Naco, life in the Honduran army is a dream come true.
As a young woman in a combat job-field, she doesn’t even think about the fact she is the only woman in her entire infantry battalion. She just goes about her work as a soldier.
“When I was going through my basic training and infantry training, I had to prove myself amongst the men,” Fernandez said. “I had to prove I could do everything they could do, and I did so by working very hard. I am given the same treatment and respect as all the other male soldiers.”
Fernandez has been in the Honduran army for a total of five months, spending three of it going through Honduran Army basic training, which resembles almost everything U.S. Army basic training involves.
“I learned everything; how to shoot, marching through the mountains with all my gear, and learning how to repel,” Fernandez said.
Pfc. Cecilia Arredondo a carpentry and masonry specialist with the 27th Engineer Battalion out of Angleton, Texas in the Texas National Guard, shares a similar passion for the armed services, as well as her own job.
“As a new soldier in my unit, and not even just as a female, I had to earn respect and show everyone that I can lead and that I can do this job well,” Arredondo said. “Out here we work as a team, it doesn’t matter if you are a male or a female, as long as we all work hard to get the job done right and complete our mission.”
Arredondo, a Houston native, is part of group currently working on the medical facility being built in Oriente, as part of the Beyond the Horizon 2012-Honduras mission.
Beyond the Horizon –Honduras 2012 is a U.S. Army South exercise deploying military engineers and medical professionals to Honduras for training, while providing services to rural communities. BTH is part of U.S. Southern Command’s annual humanitarian and civic assistance program.
Both Fernandez and Arredondo said they see success and the ability to perform as the ultimate measurement of being a soldier.
“I joined the Army, because I love the discipline, the authority, the weapons and just being a total soldier,” Fernandez said.
Arredondo echoed Fernandez’ total-soldier mindset.
“I take pride being a National Guard soldier. It gives me a sense of confidence and I hold myself as a person and a soldier to a higher standard. I feel like I’m giving back to my country and my community in a way most people aren’t,” Arredondo said.
Even though both soldiers are in predominantly-male job fields, their overall love for what they do is what keeps them going.
Fernandez’ duties include assisting the Honduran National Police at road checkpoints for illegal narcotics, pulling security, going on patrols and other infantry-related missions.
Arredondo also prefers to be in a hands-on type of role for her job.
“I love being able to work and seeing something like putting a roof up or pouring cement for a sidewalk because you get to see the product and see how things develop,” Arredondo said.
As a carpentry and masonry specialist, Arredondo is trained is many aspects of the construction field, something she recently started using at her new part-time job at Sam Houston State University, where she helps build stages and other needed structures around campus.
Arredondo also is a student at the university.
Arredondo’s life as a soldier in the U.S. Army is a life Fernandez dreams of one day attaining.
“My goal is to one day become a soldier in America,” Fernandez said. “I will do whatever it takes to accomplish my goal.”
That drive and determination is something Arredondo admires.
“I think it’s great what she wants to do. I would tell her to keep working towards her dream and to never take no for an answer and to always work with her leadership and work to gain respect in whatever field she ends up in,” Arredondo said.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2012 14:21 |
| Story ID: | 90198 |
| Location: | NACO, HN |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 249 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Honduran soldier, Texas National Guard soldier share passion for life in the Army, by SGT Clay Beyersdorfer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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