Photo By Sgt. Adam Garlington | Soldiers, family and friends gathered at a ceremony Sept. 12 to dedicate the Soldier...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas – Soldiers, family and friends gathered at a ceremony Sept. 12 to dedicate the Soldier Activity Center here to Staff Sgt. Roberto Loeza, who died May 25, 2012, when his unit was attacked by insurgents in Afghanistan.
Loeza, a 28-year-old El Pasoan, was an infantry soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. Spc. Bo Doyle, a rifleman from Loeza’s unit, recalled when Loeza arrived to the unit in 2009, many of the soldiers had just finished completing initial entry training. He said Loeza enforced the standards, taught them how to be soldiers and was always around when soldiers needed a friend.
“When Thanksgiving rolled around, I didn’t have anywhere to go,” said Doyle, whose family was in Ohio at the time. “He invited me to come over to his house. Whenever I was feeling a little lonely, he would let me come over to his house. He [set] the standard for noncommissioned officers.”
The SAC was established as a place for all soldiers and CAC holders 18-years-old and older to go and relax with their peers. “We’re trying to give the soldiers at East Fort Bliss an alternative to the bar,” said Joe Fedak, chief of Fort Bliss outdoor recreation and Biggs Park. “We want to make it a haven for single soldiers.”
Spc. Stephen Miles, also a rifleman from Loeza’s unit, said the SAC reminded him of Loeza because the facility is full of positive energy, which is why he thought the building dedication was a fitting honor for the fallen warrior.
The $8.2 million facility has a 25-foot indoor climbing wall, 4,000-square-foot outdoor pool, which can be used for inner-tube water polo, water basketball and, soon, water volleyball. Fedak added there is a multi-purpose gym which can be used for basketball, dodgeball, table tennis, volleyball, and has a 25-foot-high ropes course.
He also said there is free Wi-Fi throughout the 23,500-square-foot facility, as well as a café, a library with 16 common access card accessible computers with printer access, a game room with TVs, computers and gaming systems and a 34-seat classroom.
The facility also has a travel reservation office, Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers offices and an outdoor recreation checkout counter, where soldiers can get camping gear or equipment for all activities within the building.
For more information about the Roberto Loeza Soldier Activity Center call 915-744-2415 or visit the Fort Bliss Outdoor Recreation Facebook page.
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.18.2012 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 94896 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 341 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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