Engineer uses love of woodworking to create legacy for battalion

By Staff Sgt. Mary S. KatzenbergerSeptember 17, 2014

Engineer creates masterpiece
Maj. Luis C. Gonzalez, executive officer for 127th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stands in front of a flag stand he built for his unit. The Ponce, Puerto Rico, native has been working with wood since he was a ch... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Gonzalez, the executive officer for 127th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, has been an Army engineer for 16 years. Throughout his years of service he has strived not only to prove his value as a leader, but to also contribute to the legacy of each unit he has served with.

He blends his love of wood working with a need of his unit, and the finished project is something that remains with the unit long after he has been reassigned.

"I don't know why, maybe it's just in my heart; I want to leave … a gift that represents something [I] have done for that unit," the Ponce, Puerto Rico, native said.

Gonzalez unveiled his most recent gift--a large, three-dimensional castle that holds the battalion colors and the American flag--to the 127th En. Bn., Sept. 4, at the unit's change of responsibility ceremony. The executive officer said he put more than 70 hours of work into the project to ensure the flag stand was complete in time for the ceremony, and ready to welcome Command Sgt. Maj. Randolph Delapena, the first engineer senior enlisted advisor the battalion has had since reflagging from 1st Brigade Special Troops battalion to an engineer unit on Dec. 11, 2013.

Gonzalez was introduced to woodworking when he was an eighth grader. He crafted a small car out of wood for a class project, and he was hooked. The executive officer not only chose to pursue woodworking as a pastime, but he later incorporated his interest into his higher education--he holds double bachelor degrees in architecture and construction, and a masters degree in civil engineering--and ultimately into his army career as an engineer officer.

"For me, working with wood and challenging my mind to come up with some type of creation, that's what I like," Gonzalez said.

He says he feels like he can use wood to create many things, and that he is able to mold the wood into objects that range from one dimension to three dimensions.

To create the castle flag stand, the executive officer said all he had to do was look at the Engineer Corps flag, select the types of wood he wanted to use, and put his planer, and his table and miter saws into action.

"The wife says I'm really creative," Gonzalez said. "I can instantly see a picutre and visualize what I want to build."

The engineer said he chose to make the flag stand a castle because the castle is a symbol that represents what engineers are all about: strength, versatility and a dogged determination to accomplish whatever mission is asked of them. The image of a castle also carries a deeper significance to the executive officer.

"The castle is a fortress, it's supposed to keep people out and protect the people that are in it, so that's very interesting," Gonzalez said. "Things that you love you want to keep in, and things you don't want to let in, you build a fortress around you to protect you."

Delapena said the finished product is amazing and is a fitting tribute to the unit.

"It's great to see [the castle] to [showcase] the engineer colors," Delapena said. "It shows what the castle is, which is a base to the Engineer Corps."

Gonzalez is happy with the finished product as well. He likened completing his carpentry projects to conducting military missions.

"In the military you plan for some mission, and whatever mission that you plan you want to see it … [go] as planned," he said. "That's what I like about the wood; when you finish something you get the satisfaction of having built it."