“I’ve known since I was in eighth grade I’d end up in the Army.”
Coming from a line of military patriots, Maj. Victor Baez-An has marched out an Army career of deployments, responsibilities, and moving boxes. A remarkable trek of a career has led Baez-An to presently trudge through the scorching deserts of Iraq with dreams of his home in Waynesville.
Since 2005, the well-traveled officer has planted his boots on the grounds of Fort Leonard Wood and has since claimed the local area of Waynesville as his home. Although his journey did not begin off Route 66, it is where he plans to come back to when he finally hangs up those boots caked with the soil of so many homes before, to include Moldova, Germany and Romania.
He began his career as the child of a military man, aspiring to become one himself at a very young age.
In 1994, Baez-An enlisted in the Army Reserves, receiving a full scholarship and attending Georgia Military College in 1995. He then joined the North Carolina National Guard upon his graduation and commission in 1997 and attended East Carolina University.
After five state activations and a deployment to Moldova as a part of Operation Blue Shield, he graduated from school and was sent to Germany until 2003. It was there, in Germany, that he went from platoon leader to Brigade Force Protection Officer and took part in four Kosovo Force/Stabilization Force transitions in addition to two assignments assisting the ‘buildups’ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since then, Baez-An’s career has not slowed. He has served in a variety of positions that have continued to keep him overseas. He traveled to Italy in 2003 to serve as an Intelligence and Security Officer, and then to Iraq in 2004 as a part of a Movement Control Team, where he was met with “a lot of actions” and acquired command of the 343rd Quartermaster Company.
Baez-An notes that this particular Army Reserve unit “gained notoriety” in October 2004 for refusing to accept a mission.
“I took command of the company, and brought them home to South Carolina without losing any Soldiers and instilling pride back in the unit with the help of many great Soldiers and NCOs,” he said proudly.
He returned from deployment in 2005 to a new wife and together they headed off to Fort Leonard Wood.
He started out at the Fort enrolled in the Captains Career Course before taking command of the Alpha Company, 795th MP BN from January of 2006 to October 2007. Baez-An was appointed to the U.S. Army Military Police School as a strategic planner until July 2009 when he left to take up his present position in Tikrit, Iraq.
Currently, Baez-An is working directly with the Iraqi police forces and has even helped with the introduction of the K9 unit in Tikrit.
“As part of the drawdown, the Army has adjusted the way it trains and mentors the Iraqi Security Forces,” said Baez-An. “I have the primary (responsibility) to advise the Provincial Chief of Police and his staff on matters pertaining to Police Primacy in the Province,” Baez-An said.
All Iraqi police forces, local, county, or provincial, are accountable to the Provincial Chief of Police. There are more than 16,000 police forces and support personnel in the Province of Salah ad Din.
“Thus far, I have supervised the opening of a new jail, training center, (logistics) office and numerous training programs to this purpose,” said Baez-An.
His experience in working with the Iraqi police has been positive, and he accredits their success to the great leaders in charge of the outfits.
“The leadership is competent, know their jobs and have a memory like you wouldn’t believe,” said Baez-An. “Their ability to gain information from sources is (unparalleled) and is the main reason why they are so successful.”
Alongside his own insights into his career and current work, Baez-An sends home a new, inside perspective on the war. “The mundane here is what’s winning the fight,” said Baez-An. “We may not capture 45 guys in a raid or kill a top level terrorist every day, but we make friends and help when we can. Iraqis treasure friendships and personal relationships when it comes to working. By gaining their trust we influence what happens just as good as anything else we do.”
Even with all of the qualities of Waynesville to look forward to upon his return, which is presently set for sometime around Aug. 13, Baez-An has not escaped the hardships of deployment.
“Of course, being apart from my family is No. 1,” said Baez-An in regards to the difficulties of deployment. Of course, for this devoted soldier, his work is still high on his priority list. “A close second (in reference to the hardships of deployment) though is my inability to help the Iraqi Police like my predecessors did. My role is simply as an advisor, whereas the prior teams provided equipment, money and buildings. This is of course due to reduced funding and the need to help the Iraqis use their systems.”
While being away from family and the comforts of living in the U.S. is difficult, Baez-An finds solace in his opportunities to work alongside “some truly dedicated soldiers, as well as civilian contractors” and in the “fruition” of the seven years of labor that he is now a part of. “Iraq was deep in a well and it’s been through the many untold stories of all the Soldiers that they are finally close to achieving their goals.”
This is not to say that a little rest and relaxation time does not help to make the success in Iraq all the more gratifying. “I spend my off time playing cards, Xbox and watching movies mostly with the civilian contractors I work with.” He also has been able to enjoy a few of the singers, bands, and entertainers that have toured overseas.
“It has been really great to see some of the entertainers that have come; DJ Scribble, Naughty by Nature and on the 4th Vertical Horizon will be here, my favorite band from college. 50 cent is even due to come out.”
After such a well-traveled career, Baez-An and his family enjoy the “laid back” character of Waynesville.
“My wife and I are comfortable with the area. We’re both from small towns so the instant connection helps. There are a lot of good initiatives in Missouri in general, the (ability) to establish ties in an area we enjoy being in just helps that much more.”
Baez-An enjoys the finer points of living in the “serenity” of the Midwest, to include “spending time with family, working on the house and motorcycle riding.” All of these he will be able to enjoy, along with the “atmosphere” and “getting a steak at The Point,” when he returns until he leaves for Fort Leavenworth for Intermediate Level Education and then, perhaps, Germany once more before returning to Waynesville to settle down for retirement in 2016.
Upon returning home from the desert, Baez-An plans to do “Very little” and hopes to simply “catch up with what’s going on and get ready to get back to work.”
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“I’ve known since I was in eighth grade I’d end up in the Army.”
Coming from a line of military patriots, Maj. Victor Baez-An has marched out an Army career of deployments, responsibilities, and moving boxes. A remarkable trek of a career has led Baez-An to presently trudge through the scorching deserts of Iraq with dreams of his home in Waynesville.
Since 2005, the well-traveled officer has planted his boots on the grounds of Fort Leonard Wood and has since claimed the local area of Waynesville as his home. Although his journey did not begin off Route 66, it is where he plans to come back to when he finally hangs up those boots caked with the soil of so many homes before, to include Moldova, Germany and Romania.
He began his career as the child of a military man, aspiring to become one himself at a very young age.
In 1994, Baez-An enlisted in the Army Reserves, receiving a full scholarship and attending Georgia Military College in 1995. He then joined the North Carolina National Guard upon his graduation and commission in 1997 and attended East Carolina University.
After five state activations and a deployment to Moldova as a part of Operation Blue Shield, he graduated from school and was sent to Germany until 2003. It was there, in Germany, that he went from platoon leader to Brigade Force Protection Officer and took part in four Kosovo Force/Stabilization Force transitions in addition to two assignments assisting the ‘buildups’ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since then, Baez-An’s career has not slowed. He has served in a variety of positions that have continued to keep him overseas. He traveled to Italy in 2003 to serve as an Intelligence and Security Officer, and then to Iraq in 2004 as a part of a Movement Control Team, where he was met with “a lot of actions” and acquired command of the 343rd Quartermaster Company.
Baez-An notes that this particular Army Reserve unit “gained notoriety” in October 2004 for refusing to accept a mission.
“I took command of the company, and brought them home to South Carolina without losing any Soldiers and instilling pride back in the unit with the help of many great Soldiers and NCOs,” he said proudly.
He returned from deployment in 2005 to a new wife and together they headed off to Fort Leonard Wood.
He started out at the Fort enrolled in the Captains Career Course before taking command of the Alpha Company, 795th MP BN from January of 2006 to October 2007. Baez-An was appointed to the U.S. Army Military Police School as a strategic planner until July 2009 when he left to take up his present position in Tikrit, Iraq.
Currently, Baez-An is working directly with the Iraqi police forces and has even helped with the introduction of the K9 unit in Tikrit.
“As part of the drawdown, the Army has adjusted the way it trains and mentors the Iraqi Security Forces,” said Baez-An. “I have the primary (responsibility) to advise the Provincial Chief of Police and his staff on matters pertaining to Police Primacy in the Province,” Baez-An said.
All Iraqi police forces, local, county, or provincial, are accountable to the Provincial Chief of Police. There are more than 16,000 police forces and support personnel in the Province of Salah ad Din.
“Thus far, I have supervised the opening of a new jail, training center, (logistics) office and numerous training programs to this purpose,” said Baez-An.
His experience in working with the Iraqi police has been positive, and he accredits their success to the great leaders in charge of the outfits.
“The leadership is competent, know their jobs and have a memory like you wouldn’t believe,” said Baez-An. “Their ability to gain information from sources is (unparalleled) and is the main reason why they are so successful.”
Alongside his own insights into his career and current work, Baez-An sends home a new, inside perspective on the war. “The mundane here is what’s winning the fight,” said Baez-An. “We may not capture 45 guys in a raid or kill a top level terrorist every day, but we make friends and help when we can. Iraqis treasure friendships and personal relationships when it comes to working. By gaining their trust we influence what happens just as good as anything else we do.”
Even with all of the qualities of Waynesville to look forward to upon his return, which is presently set for sometime around Aug. 13, Baez-An has not escaped the hardships of deployment.
“Of course, being apart from my family is No. 1,” said Baez-An in regards to the difficulties of deployment. Of course, for this devoted soldier, his work is still high on his priority list. “A close second (in reference to the hardships of deployment) though is my inability to help the Iraqi Police like my predecessors did. My role is simply as an advisor, whereas the prior teams provided equipment, money and buildings. This is of course due to reduced funding and the need to help the Iraqis use their systems.”
While being away from family and the comforts of living in the U.S. is difficult, Baez-An finds solace in his opportunities to work alongside “some truly dedicated soldiers, as well as civilian contractors” and in the “fruition” of the seven years of labor that he is now a part of. “Iraq was deep in a well and it’s been through the many untold stories of all the Soldiers that they are finally close to achieving their goals.”
This is not to say that a little rest and relaxation time does not help to make the success in Iraq all the more gratifying. “I spend my off time playing cards, Xbox and watching movies mostly with the civilian contractors I work with.” He also has been able to enjoy a few of the singers, bands, and entertainers that have toured overseas.
“It has been really great to see some of the entertainers that have come; DJ Scribble, Naughty by Nature and on the 4th Vertical Horizon will be here, my favorite band from college. 50 cent is even due to come out.”
After such a well-traveled career, Baez-An and his family enjoy the “laid back” character of Waynesville.
“My wife and I are comfortable with the area. We’re both from small towns so the instant connection helps. There are a lot of good initiatives in Missouri in general, the (ability) to establish ties in an area we enjoy being in just helps that much more.”
Baez-An enjoys the finer points of living in the “serenity” of the Midwest, to include “spending time with family, working on the house and motorcycle riding.” All of these he will be able to enjoy, along with the “atmosphere” and “getting a steak at The Point,” when he returns until he leaves for Fort Leavenworth for Intermediate Level Education and then, perhaps, Germany once more before returning to Waynesville to settle down for retirement in 2016.
Upon returning home from the desert, Baez-An plans to do “Very little” and hopes to simply “catch up with what’s going on and get ready to get back to work.”
