 Living
Approximately eight hours each day, as long as there are no emergencies demanding his attention, a meeting, or training, you'll find him at the unit's woodworking shop. The Cavalry office sign was his initial project. It wasn't long before he was building other signs, poster frames, target trees for the ranges, and even a domino table for their Morale, Welfare and Recreation room. Once the squadron recognized his immense talent, they benefitted by providing him further opportunities to express his functional artistry. According to 3/7th Cav. executive officer, Maj. Steve Barry, a Hamilton, N.J. native, Sgt. 1st Class Feliciano's woodworking skills "enable us to improve our efficiency in command and control. "He has an amazing attention to detail and a great work ethic," said Maj. Barry. "He's the oldest man in the squadron and he easily works 14 hours a day, doing manual labor with a minimum of help. It's just really impressive. "If you give him a construction project request, he immediately understands what you want and can produce anything - target trees, going away gifts for NCOs and officers, even picnic tables. If the command asked him to build a space shuttle, he could do it.". Sergeant 1st Class Feliciano's father and brother were mechanics, working amid grease all day long, and he would help them during the long Puerto Rican summers. However, working with wood, he discovered, was his true calling. "I like to be creative. Wood gives me the chance to be creative and to express myself. Wood is a living material, it speaks to you. You have to work it with love," Sgt. 1st Clas Feliciano said. A Puerto Rico National Guard Soldier for 17 years, he joined the active Army in 1998, "to improve the quality of life for my Family and to give them a better future." And now, 12 years later, his youngest son recently graduated from high school, while his oldest son, a freshman at Georgia Southern University, is enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps there. "I met my goal," said Sgt.1st Class Feliciano, with quiet satisfaction. "My Family has been taken care of and since the third grade, they speak fluent English. The hardest part has been all the deployments, as well as the initial shift in income. "I actually made more money through woodworking than I made as a Soldier. But I like to train Soldiers. I like the work. Not everything is based on money," Sgt. 1st Class Feliciano said. Their first duty station was Fort Lewis, Wash., which provided a huge adjustment for the Feliciano Family. Since then, the military has taken them to Korea and Fort Drum, N.Y., before his first deployment to Afghanistan in October 2001. He's now on his sixth deployment, while his Family resides at Fort Stewart, Ga. Besides his two tours to Afghanistan, he's taken part in Operations Iraqi Freedom II, III, V, and VII. He plans to retire at Fort Stewart within five years and hopes to continue woodworking. Another option, he said, are friends from the county who would give him the opportunity to become a building inspector. "I like to build everything, so it's not a problem for me. I can look at something and know what's right or wrong. I can also be a handyman around housing, so there are a lot of places I could work." When Maj. Barry returned to Iraq from leave, Sgt. 1st Class Feliciano had a little surprise waiting for the Cavalry XO. "I opened my door, turned on the light, and my first thought was, ‘This isn't my office, it must be the sergeant's major office,' so I stepped back out," said Maj. Barry. "But then I noticed, that was my stuff sitting on the shelves. I was absolutely flabbergasted. Before, all I had was a desk, a table and a tactical box. "I was completely surprised and completely in awe. It's functional, it's organized, and I found out he did it all in only a day and a half." A 29-year military veteran, the quiet, soft-spoken artist from Juncos, Puerto Rico is there for his Soldiers, his Family, his friends. "I try to help others the best I can. A lot of Soldiers are fresh out of high school and have never left home before. I'm a friend who helps them with their needs. I tell them, ‘It's not that hard. You can handle it. You just need to be brave and to believe. ‘"Just don't take anything personally. It's just business. It's on you,'" he said. In the meantime, you'll find Sgt. 1st Class Feliciano out in the woodshop, communing with the wood he so richly enjoys. "I thank God every day for the skills I have and the ability to help others enjoy it," he said, with a smile. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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