CAMP TAJI – Internal strife that tore Colombia apart in the 1990s affected the lives of many, including a 15-year-old now deployed as a sgt in the U.S. Army. After his father was brutally murdered by extremist guerillas in 1993, Alexander Tarazona set off on a rapid new path that would take him from the Colombian army, to what was then Czechoslovakia, and finally to his 2nd military destination – the U.S. Army.
Tarazona, along with his 2 brothers and their mother, struggled after his father’s death, but he said he excelled at high school, graduating with honors before joining the Colombian army to fulfill his year of national service.
“When I joined the Colombian army, I was a kid. There was a big difference in the way soldiers were treated, compared to the U.S. Army,” he said. “For example, we went to the range to shoot and, for each one of the 20 rounds you missed, you were hit with a stick. That will remind you that you shouldn’t waste any rounds. Everything was mass punishment.”
Tarazona immediately sought a new direction. Once his Army obligation expired, he applied for a scholarship overseas to obtain a better education, eventually settling in Czechoslovakia, where he would spend 8 years before finally earning a degree in nutrition in 2003. “The day after I got my diploma, I was on a plane back to Colombia,” Tarazona said. “It was very hard for me in Czechoslovakia. The price I paid for that was very high -- 8 years of my life.”
While in Europe, Tarazona met his wife, Veronica, over the Internet, a relationship that would lead to him to the U.S. Tarazona said Veronica, who lived in Miami, wanted him to move to the U.S. To make this easier, she enlisted in the Army, which convinced U.S. embassy officials in Colombia to give Tarazona a visa.
Tarazona then fulfilled a promise he had made before he and Veronica were married, to enlist in the Army. Following his initial training, he was assigned to 1st Air Cav Bde and eventually joined by his wife, both deploying to Iraq. Although Veronica since has left the Army, Tarazona said, he's happy with the way things have worked out. “My standard of living is a lot higher now, including my family back in Colombia,” Tarazona said. “I’ve been fortunate.”
