Guardsman Builds Schools in El Salvador

By Sgt. Richard Frost

Joint Task Force Jaguar Public Affairs

Sgt. Anthony Rorick , Nashua, N.H., is currently in El Salvador, serving with Joint Task Force Jaguar during Beyond the Horizon- El Salvador, a U.S. Southern-Command-sponsored, Army South-led, joint-foreign military interaction and humanitarian exercise that started in March and runs until June 2013.

He is one of the project managers for the engineering sites where new schools are being built for the young residents in rural areas here.

“I love engineering,” said Rorick. “I came here three years ago as well. Doing something for people and knowing how appreciative they are is so rewarding, and it impacts a lot of people in a very positive way.”

In the coming months, three new schools will have been built, and Joint Task Force Jaguar will conduct four, week-long medical and dental clinics here in El Salvador, providing education and medical services to potentially thousands of Salvadoran citizens who are in great need of these services.

Knowing that his efforts will support many families in El Salvador, and help those families to provide better for themselves in the future, is worth the sacrifice, according to Rorick.

“You can’t be selfish once you’re a father,” said Rorick, “Everything you do is for your family. I know that what we’re doing here is right. The communities we’re in don’t always have opportunities like us in the U.S., it makes this a little easier. “

He also added that he feels a personal connection to the families that he sees traveling past the job sites where they are implementing the new plans.

“I often see folks walking past our sites and I consider their livelihoods, “said Rorick. “As a new father, I know how important it is to take care of my family. What I feel like I am doing here is helping other fathers take care of their kids the way I want to take care of my own.”

Rorick and his wife, Kayla, just became parents in March.

“Rorick is one of the best soldiers I have,” said Sgt. 1^st Class Chuck Rice, Detachment 2, 160^th Engineer Company, Franklin, NH. “We tried to get him out of this deployment, and he wasn’t having it. That’s just the kind of soldier he is. He’s one of the most dedicated soldiers I know.”