BRICK BY BRICK
Father, Soldier builds family and career
Pfc. Michael Baumberger, 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
ŻAGAń, Poland (6/18/2021)
For Staff Sgt. George Davis, a public affairs noncommissioned officer with the 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment based out of Columbus, Ohio, the biggest obstacle he faces is spending quality time with family while having such a busy work schedule.
Currently deployed with his unit in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, back home Davis is a full-time federal technician in the visual information services department at the Ohio National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters. His job includes an extensive amount of work that can be time consuming, including management of all ceremonies at the headquarters and larger conferences that the headquarters facilitates.
“The job requires a lot of odd hours,” Davis said. “I end up working some weekends and putting in extra hours when I get involved with larger projects, so it can be demanding of my family.”
His family respects that he is dedicated and has the integrity to work as hard as he does, but, like many dedicated fathers, he puts spending time with family at the top of his list.
“I prioritize the time that I do get to spend with my family,” he said. “I pay someone to do the yard work, and we have a cleaning lady, so I can focus on spending quality time with my family.”
His position with the 196th MPAD also requires him to attend drill weekends and annual training. From state activations with the Ohio National Guard to his current U.S. European Command deployment, Davis continues to be devoted to connecting with his family back home in the Mansfield area, even if he is thousands of miles away. He said he continuously strives to come up with creative ways to stay connected to his family.
“While George is away, he does a good job at sending funny video messages and reading to Park (his son) frequently at night,” said wife Stacy, a sixth-grade math teacher. “As much as I hate that he is gone, I am very proud of the commitment he and others have made to the military.”
The time that Davis spends away from home is particularly tough on Park.
“My son doesn’t understand it,” he said. “Every time I talk to him, he asks me why I can’t just work from home like I used to (when teleworking was prevalent during the peak of COVID-19). He doesn’t understand the commitment I have.”
In the midst of a demanding work life, Davis unintentionally learned that he and his son would both have a new-found love for building Legos together after watching the Lego Batman movie. With a background in film and video production, Davis said he was intrigued by the storytelling methods that the movie demonstrated. Shortly after watching the movie, he purchased a 1,000-piece movie replica of the Lego Batmobile.
“As my wife drove us to a class that I had to take in Chicago, my son and I sat in the back seat and put together this Lego set,” he said. “Well, my son put together the mini figures, as I focused on the Batmobile itself.”
He and his son would go on to develop a shared hobby while building Lego sets together. What once started out as a single Lego set would go on to become a huge collection of Legos of all sorts. Stacy posted a picture of them building Legos together on social media. Shortly after, George said they got a donation of three 20-gallon tubs of Legos.
“We eventually amassed a collection of 80,000 to 100,000 Lego pieces,” he said. “Oh man, it was a ridiculous amount of Legos.”
“I’m proud of my dad,” Park said. “He’s in the military and makes money and can buy toys; he is making sure the world is safe.”
George and Park may have just been building Legos together, but they were also building a stronger father-son relationship. George said he truly appreciates the experiences that he did not have himself as a child. Growing up, George’s family couldn’t afford to give him Legos and toys like he does for his son.
“I discovered things that I never had in my childhood,” he said. “By giving them to my son, I also discovered a passion for them myself.”
Davis looks forward to the completion of his deployment so he can return home and continue strengthening his bond with his family, and spend more time building Legos and other activities with Park, of course.
“I’m proud of my dad,” Park said. “He’s in the military and makes money and can buy toys; he is making sure the world is safe.”
Like Staff Sgt. Davis, many Soldiers are obligated to spend time away from their loved ones. He said that you should never take your time for granted because it slips away faster than you think.
“You can buy more property, you can build more wealth and find a better career,” Davis said. “But you can’t buy more time. You can’t underestimate the value of time. It’s the one commodity that is truly limited.”
