Army Veteran Teaches the Value of Working Together

Army veteran turned Street Sweeper Supervisor applies his skills of teamwork and perseverance to lead his team to success.

Veterans Day is a special time to honor the noble and courageous men and women who have served our country. At Athens, we are honored to work alongside some of those individuals.

Field Supervisor Thomas Wedding is one of them. He developed an interest in joining the military while in high school; he wanted to be a part of something more. When the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Towers occurred, that was the push he needed. Soon thereafter, he joined the Army in 2002.

Thomas served as a Chemical Operations Specialist for two deployments. The first was to Iraq from 2003-2004 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he focused on security and artillery for the base. This was a scary time as tensions were high and conditions in the country were dangerous.

“Our base was attacked repeatedly and back then we didn’t have the type of technology we had during my second deployment,” said Thomas.
Between deployments, he was stationed with the 25th Infantry Division Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, where he married his wife of now 17 years, Candice. Three months later, he began another deployment to Iraq that lasted from 2006-2008. Luckily for the couple, Thomas had more access to communication channels this time around. They would video chat at least once a week and communicate through instant messenger.

His experience during the second deployment was different. The state of the country had settled down and there was a surge of troops to help with training the Iraqi national army and police, while his unit focused solely on protecting the base. Thomas finished up his army career at Fort Irwin where he trained units for deployment.

Thomas Wedding in Army Green Service Uniform 2

Thomas Wedding in front of Athens Street Sweeper-2

Eight months after returning to civilian life, Thomas landed a job with Athens Services as an Operations Foreman and eventually worked his way up to his current position of Field Supervisor. He has been with the company for 11 years and services the areas of Azusa, Covina, Glendora, Irwindale, Monrovia, La Verne, Rowland Heights, Pomona, and Santa Ana.

“The things I liked about the army I try to bring to this side,” said Thomas. “Routes might get tough, but you have to persevere, keep pushing and work together as a team. That’s how we’re going to get things accomplished, whether it’s in the Army or at Athens.”

Thomas resides in Ontario with his wife, sons Noah, 13, and Nathan, 8, and their two dogs Lily and Milo.

Athens is proud to have amazing veterans on the team like Thomas. During this holiday, please remember to thank a veteran for their service and remember those who have fallen.