NOTES ON PEOPLE (03/20/05)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

Commander retires from U.S. Navy

by Roman G. Golash

CHICAGO - On December 11, 2004, Cmdr. Charles W. Dobra retired from the Navy after 28 years of active and reserve duty with the Naval Reserve Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.

Cmdr. Dobra has served as the commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Navy Legal Service Office North Central Detachment Great Lakes, Ill. His last assignment was as commanding officer of the Volunteer Training Unit 1314 as well as the initial review officer at the pre-trial confinement facility in Great Lakes, Ill.

During his time in the enlisted ranks, he was selected as Enlisted Man of the Month and the Year in 1970. He was also selected as the enlisted representative from the Ryukyu Islands to the Japan Counsel's USO Gold Plate dinner in 1970.

At the retirement ceremony, it is Navy tradition to ring a bell four times upon entry and exit. The bell used for Cmdr. Dobra's ceremony was the same bell that was on board his father's ship during World War II.

Cmdr. Dobra's awards include the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Reserve Meritorious Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal (three awards), Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal.

As a lawyer in private practice, he has published four bar association briefs and served as the assistant states attorney general for the state of Illinois. He is a member of seven law and bar associations and has instructed at more than four law schools across the counltry.

He is a charter member of Ukrainian American Veterans 1st Lt. Ivan Shandor Post 35 in Palatine, Ill. He has been on the post staff since its founding, serving as the post JAG.

Cmdr. Dobra is married to Elaine J. Dobra and has one child, Christine. The Dobra family resides in St. Charles, Ill.

Technical specialist returns from Iraq

SAN DIEGO - Ukrainian American Stefan Oborski, who recently returned from Iraq where he served with the U.S. Navy, is now stationed in California. He served in Iraq for six months as a chief warrant officer and was stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad.

He joined the U.S. Navy in December 1984; was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Youkosuka, Japan, and Washington; and later served aboard the USS John Young during the Gulf War.

Mr. Oborski - a trained cryptological technician - was previously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal and the National Defense Medal.

Mr. Oborski is currently working on a master's degree at National University in San Bernardino, Calif. Previously he earned a bachelor's degree in legal studies from the University of Maryland in 2003.

As a chief warrant officer Mr. Oborski is considered a technical specialist, qualified by past performance and experience, who possesses the expertise and authority to direct difficult and exacting technical operations.

Army captain writes about duty in Iraq

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Capt. Roman Skaskiw served in Iraq for nine months in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army and is currently on inactive duty in the United States. Capt. Skaskiw, a paratrooper, also served for six months in Afghanistan.

Mr. Skaskiw, who graduated from Stanford University in 2001, wrote an article about his experience in Iraq. The article - titled "What Are We Doing Here?" - was published last year in the March-April issue of Stanford University Magazine.

He wrote: "Why did I join the Army? I often faced the question when old friends hear that I was deploying to Afghanistan or, more recently, to Iraq. There are too many reasons (good and bad) to mention here, but there is a single piece of advice, a justification, to which I cling as if it were my parachute: to grow, get out of my comfort zone."

Of his experiences in Iraq, Mr. Skaskiw wrote: "Here in Iraq I've found great satisfaction in facing situations we aren't trained for, like working with a town council that spent its first two-hour meeting bringing up problem after problem. They hung on my every word, although I didn't have many, and I suspect the interpreter understood only about half the ones I mustered. After the first of my weekly meetings with the town council, one sheik who spoke a little English grabbed my elbow and pointed to my chest. "You must do this. You. I saw the news. Mr. Bush says you will rebuild Iraq."

Mr. Skaskiw went on to describe some of his experiences, particularly his work in helping Iraqi farmers re-establish the country's agricultural sector, in renovating schools, repairing garbage trucks and helping with a water shortage problem.

He returned to his work with the citizens: "I'm most proud of what I can't help but call my city council, which is now confronting black-market propane dealers, building a relationship with all the ministries and the local judge, touring local schools and beginning to make important decisions by vote rather than by force of personality. It's selfish of me to compare my feelings to those of a parent whose child is taking its first wobbly steps. I had little to do with it, but at the same time, I had a little to do with it - and that's not bad for a techie."

Currently, Mr. Skaskiw is back in New York City. He has an interest in becoming a writer and was recently accepted to the prestigious Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa and is waiting to hear back from Columbia University's writing program.

Notes on people is a feature geared toward reporting on the achievements of members of the Ukrainian National Association. All submissions should be concise due to space limitations and must include the person's UNA branch number. Items will be published as soon as possible after their receipt, when space permits.

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