Jones, Guiao complete US Army training

The U.S. Army held its Basic Combat Training graduation ceremony on Sept. 15, 2005 at Fort Benning, Georgia and among the 212 newly graduated soldiers that day were two proud sons of the Northern Marianas: Private Bino James D. Jones of Capitol Hill and Private Ryan Tacpal Guiao of San Vicente, Saipan.

Jones is the son of Bill and Imelda Jones of Capitol Hill, Saipan, while Guiao is the son of Rodolfo J. Guiao and Girlie T. Guiao of San Vicente, Saipan.

Also graduating with Saipan soldiers were four fellow graduates from Guam and the mainland. The fellow graduates of 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry included Private First Class Franklin Jay Santos of Hagatna, Guam; Private Tyler Van Tevid of Yona, Guam; Private Dreamis Juan Burton of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Private Brian Dean Butler of South Carolina.

In attendance for the Basic Combat Training graduation was CNMI Resident Representative Pedro A. Tenorio, Sergeant Tony Tenorio, and Walter Villagomez, Tenorio’s staff.

Both Jones and Guiao endured and successfully completed Basic Combat training, Infantry training, rifle marksmanship, and nearly two dozen other requirements before being pinned as soldiers in the U.S. Army.

“Basic training wasn’t meant to be easy, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. It’s basically up to you. If you want to pass training, you got to have the will, no matter how hard things are, you just got to push it and drive on,” said Jones on his training experience.

For Guiao, he described basic training as “an interesting experience.”

“All you need is a strong heart. Like my drill sergeant always said, your heart tells your brain and body what to do. Also, the main key thing is to possess discipline. Discipline will bring you far in this new world,” Guiao said.

“I am very proud of Pvt. Jones and Pvt. Guiao for their sense of volunteerism and dedication to our nation by enlisting in the U.S. Army. I have no doubt that they will preserve and defend our American values, principles, and way of life at home and abroad,” said Tenorio. “They will join the ranks of hundreds of our proud men and women from the Northern Marianas who are serving our country in all branches of the armed services.”

Both will further their military training for an additional 20 weeks of Advanced Individual Training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, with Jones as a Signal Support System Specialist and Guiao as a Cable system installer-maintainer. (PR)