Fifth Deployment No Sweat for Gregorian

CHELMSFORD, Mass.—U.S. Army Major Felix Gregorian is preparing for his fifth assignment to the Middle East next month at age 59.

And it’s likely that one of his two military sons will be joining him in what will be his first deployment. Another son is also military active, though his status overseas has not yet been determined.

As for wife Candace, she handles matters back home in Chelmsford, keeping that front in order while her family embraces Uncle Sam. The Gregorians are celebrating their 30^th wedding anniversary this year.

Together, they represent the quintessential military family, and have drawn the attention of Congress and U.S. Representative Niki Tsongas, who issued special recognition on their behalf.

The citation reads: “To the Gregorian family in honor of its devotion to the United States Military. Your commitment in serving our nation remains an inspiration to us all.”

The citation was presented June 5 during a luncheon in their honor at St. Gregory Church in North Andover, attended by their friends.

A son, Dro, 26, is a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy and is currently stationed in Japan, while another, Gregor, 24, graduated from West Point and is serving at Fort Campbell, Ky., slated for deployment in November.

“My family is very special to me,” says Felix, an Iranian immigrant. “They attended church here, became stole bearers on the altar, learned about their Armenian heritage, and were scholar-athletes at Chelmsford High School. Now, they’re putting all that experience to use for their nation.”

Many parishioners have kept in touch with the family through packages and letters they’ve sent overseas. Through social media, they have remained connected to the boys, whose careers have been predestined by their dad. Felix is in his 26^th year of military service, having joined in 1988.

“Work must go on,” he says, mindful of the risks. “Missions stay on track. As a soldier, you’re prepared to fight for your life. God has been watching over me.”

The promotion to major came after his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan where he was training Afghan security forces to take over the security missions.

Gregorian has undergone embedded tactical training with the Afghanistan National Army while assigned with the Army Reserve 108^th Institutional Training Division. His job was teaching allied forces medical procedures.

In civilian life, Gregorian works as a respiratory therapist and has volunteered as part of a medical team that treats children needing cardiac care in Africa.

Some other highlights:

–During a visit to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, his glasses fell into a river, only to be retrieved by a 6-year-old. How did the child know they were his?

–At Camp Marmal, he met a number of other Armenians and shared some memorable times.

–A few times, indirect fire landed near his area. Never a direct hit, but they could hear the sound of impact. “With all the dangers facing the American forces, we do what it takes to protect each other and execute the missions before us,” he says.

–He has helped build roads, schools, a district government building, a 20-bed hospital, and a university.

–He ran a half-marathon and once marched 26 kilometers in a German base.

Since his first deployment in Afghanistan in 2005, Gregorian has seen some 68,000 troops diminished to 34,000 as numbers continue to decline. By year’s end, he expects the volume to be around 10,000.

Gregorian calls himself “a soldier ambassador for the United States.”

“We’ll be there until we can guarantee peace and security in that country,” he says. “We’ve invested a lot of manpower and energy to make this happen.”

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Tom Vartabedian

Tom Vartabedian is a retired journalist with the Haverhill Gazette, where he spent 40 years as an award-winning writer and photographer. He has volunteered his services for the past 46 years as a columnist and correspondent with the Armenian Weekly, where his pet project was the publication of a special issue of the AYF Olympics each September.

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