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U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos, assigned to the 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, raises his hands in victory as the impromptu commencement ceremony ends signifying he has graduated during a makeshift commencement ceremony in the motor pool at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos, assigned to 456th Medical Company Area Support throws his homemade mortarboard into the air while his unit joins him in the celebration during a makeshift commencement ceremony in the motor pool at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Sgt. Nicole Ineson, 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, counts down to surprising U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos with a makeshift graduation ceremony while on a training mission to support Defender 22 at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Spc. Urijaun Hall, left, and U.S. Army Spc. Wigber Torres, both assigned to 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, smile for the camera as they wait for a makeshift graduation ceremony for a fellow Soldier at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos, assigned to the 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, smiles at his fellow Soldiers who have arranged a makeshift graduation ceremony to replace the one he is missing at home during a training exercise for Defender 22 at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos, assigned to the 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, stands at attention during a makeshift graduation ceremony to replace the one he is missing at home during a training exercise for Defender 22 at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Lt. Col. Gary Rivard, senior medical officer of the 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, delivers the welcoming speech during a makeshift graduation ceremony for one of his Soldiers who attended training in support of Defender 22 and missed his graduation ceremony at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos, assigned to 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, shows off his homemade diploma while U.S. Maj. Mohit Sachoeva, commander of 456th MCAS, applauds during a makeshift commencement ceremony in the motor pool at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Maj. Mohit Sachoeva, right, commander of the 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, shakes the hand of U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos during a makeshift graduation ceremony in the motor pool at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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U.S. Army Maj. Wyatt Traina, assigned to the 456th Medical Company Area Support of the U.S. Army Reserve, delivers a commencement speech to U.S. Army Spc. Peter Vanechanos during a makeshift graduation ceremony in the motor pool at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, May 23, 2022. Training and Readiness are key in being ready and able to respond to any threats from our adversaries and provide support to our allies. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga)
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DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland - U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Peter Vanechanos, a medic assigned to the 456th Medical Company Area Support, received a surprise from his unit with an impromptu commencement ceremony to celebrate the graduation he was missing while on military orders supporting Defender Europe 22, here, May 23, 2022.
Vanechanos completed his degree cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Genetics with a concentration in genomics and bioinformatics.
“I had no idea it was going to happen, they blindfolded me and made it a surprise,” said Vanechanos, “it was amazing. This ceremony meant a lot more to me because it was with all my fellow Soldiers, it meant a lot that they were willing to go out of their way to make that happen for me.”
U.S. Soldiers of the 456th MCAS chipped in their time, talent and treasure to make the most of the ceremony. They made a mortarboard graduation hat out of cardboard and a surgical gown that featured the signatures of each member of the unit.
Donned in a U.S. Army poncho as his graduation gown, Vanechanos was led around the motor pool to disorient him. A fellow Soldier yelled out, “3, 2, 1” and they removed the blindfold to reveal his entire unit sitting on concrete blocks that had been set up in an outdoor theatre-style seating arrangement. At the front, concrete blocks had been used to form a podium and they had written “DPTA Commencement Class of 2022” on a cardboard sign and duct-taped it to the podium.
“I felt honored and really humbled by the ceremony. The fact that I had field grade officers, and also a lot of the doctors that were there actually speaking at my graduation, for example, Maj. Wyatt Traina being the commencement speaker meant a lot to me,” said Vanechanos, “as well as shaking my commander and first sergeant’s hand, all of that was great and I felt honored.”
Vanechanos and his fellow Soldiers of the 456th MCAS of the U.S. Army Reserve deployed to Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, in support of Defender Europe 22 on May 13-29. Defender Europe 22 is a multinational, regular joint, and combined exercise organized by the United States Armed Forces to build preparedness and interoperability between Allies and partners of the USA and NATO.
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