FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
Two Soldiers from the Spanish Army recently completed the Chinook Repairer course at the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site here.
Sgt. 1st Class Lorena Monge Prieto and Sgt. 1st Class Javier Navarro-Blasco, both CH-47 helicopter repairers with the Spanish Army, completed the 15U20/30 Chinook Repairer course at EAATS in May.
“For me aviation is perfect,” Monge said. “I really enjoy this job over other jobs.”
Monge has been in the Spanish Army for 18 years while Navarro has been in for 10 years.
“The first few years, I was a signal soldier, and then I entered the noncommissioned officer academy," Monge said. "Since leaving the academy, I have been aviation, about 11 years now.".
For Navarro, his path to the military is one like many individuals who choose to join the military service.
“For me, I started a civilian career in the past,” Navarro said. “I realized that I didn’t like what I was doing, so I joined the military. And, I like it.”
Working within the field of aviation and helicopter repair is one of constant learning with updates to machinery and operations. To Monge, it is a challenging job.
“The choices you can make in our job can be tough,” Monge said. “I’m a technical inspector; so imagine being deployed, and if a machine has to go on mission that machine has to work. So, it is tough. You have to read a lot, you have to work hard, and make the right decisions in order to get the aircraft to work. It is tough, but at the same time, it is very rewarding.”
When Monge heard the news the she was coming to the class, she was initially concerned because she had just returned from a deployment to Iraq.
“The hard thing for me, is being away from my husband. But, I have to thank him. He was the one that told me to come to this class. But, we speak every day, we Skype every day, and it is easy. Hard, because I want to be home with him, but easy because we have contact every day,” said Monge.
Navarro has benefited from his own support from back home.
“We talk through Skype every day, and when I have a bad day they are there to support me, and it has been very important during this time,” he said.
During the repairer course, both international soldiers worked with U.S. Soldiers to better their understanding of the CH-47F. Both soldiers performed well, with Monge the class noncommissioned officer in charge, and Navarro named to the EAATS Commandants list for the highest GPA in his class.
Both soldiers continue their training in the CH-47F Flight Engineer Course, also at EAATS, performing on-the-job training to better communicate the understanding of what they learned in the classroom.
Navarro said he enjoys his job in aviation and the opportunity to learn more.
“I was an infantry soldier at the beginning for the first few years, and then became a noncommissioned officer after the academy, and then life with aircraft after that,” he said. “You feel the responsibility of the people that are flying in the helicopter – especially since it is a big helicopter. You are performing everything properly, then the flight will be safe; If not, then it could be a disaster.”