New Mexico Minuteman - Winter 2012
New Mexico Minuteman - Winter 2012
New Mexico Minuteman - Winter 2012
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Another father and son team is serving in the<br />
111th Headquarters and Headquarters Company<br />
based in Rio Rancho, N.M. Master Sgt.<br />
Theodore Robert Skibyak and his son Spc.<br />
Theodore Robert Skibyak II did not originally<br />
plan to deploy together. Master Sgt. Skibyak<br />
is serving as the deputy provost marshal on<br />
Camp Bondsteel, while Spc. Skibyak is the<br />
engineer noncommissioned offi cer in charge.<br />
“This is not something we planned; it just<br />
happened,” said Master Sgt. Skibyak. “I taught<br />
my son everything I know about engines, and<br />
now I’m learning from him.”<br />
Spc. Skibyak said one of the reasons the<br />
deployment is easier is because his dad is<br />
here.<br />
“I get along with my dad, so we being<br />
deployed together works well,” said Spc.<br />
Skibyak. “We have a lot of the same hobbies<br />
and pastimes.”<br />
Chatting over refreshments at the Camp<br />
Bondsteel coffee shop, the Skibyaks were<br />
reminiscing about home and the pastimes<br />
they missed the most.<br />
“We can’t wait to get home to the bikes,”<br />
they said almost in unison.<br />
“Not only am I here with my dad,<br />
but he is also my best friend.”<br />
– Sgt. Brian Joseph Mendez<br />
Staff Sgt. Jerry Mendez and his son, Sgt.<br />
Brian Joseph Mendez, are both members of<br />
the Liaison Monitoring Team based in Roswell,<br />
N.M. Staff Sgt. Mendez is serving with Team 3<br />
and Sgt. Mendez is serving with Team 5.<br />
“Not only am I here with my dad, but he is<br />
also my best friend,” said Sgt. Mendez. “It’s<br />
easier to have someone here that knows you<br />
and who you can go to with problems.”<br />
The elder Mendez echoed his son’s statement.<br />
“I love being with my son. I love spending<br />
time with him,” said Staff Sgt. Mendez. “It<br />
has been an honor to have him here with me. I<br />
would volunteer to go anywhere with him.”<br />
They both agree their bond has grown<br />
stronger since the start of the deployment.<br />
Military families fi nd themselves on opposite<br />
sides of the globe at times. For these three<br />
teams of father and son service members,<br />
military service is shared on this deployment.<br />
They all left mutual loved ones at home but<br />
are working hard while here and building<br />
memories together to fi ll a lifetime. Wherever<br />
they may be, deployed or not, they say they<br />
are lucky to have each other.<br />
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<strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2012</strong> / NEW MEXICO National Guard 21
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