Thank You for Your Service, Matthew Quiles

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – Like many, Matthew Quiles said the attacks on the Twin Towers on 9/11 changed his life.

Quiles told 7 NEWS his aspirations of wanting to grow up and become a police officer quickly altered into wanting to become a soldier.

“I just knew the army was it!” Quiles stated. “I didn’t want to be sitting here at home all the time. I wanted to go out on the forefront and do things for this country.”

Quiles enlisted in the Army as a 91-Bravo in 2014.

“Which is an all-wheel vehicle mechanic, and I was attached to, I was with the first I.D., first Infantry Division,” Quiles explained. “Which is also known as the Big Red One and I was with a combat engineer unit.”

Quiles said it was his job to keep all vehicles up and running smoothly.

“We did pull long shifts, checking vehicles, checking personnel trying to enter through an oil refinery,” said Quiles.

He deployed to Kuwait and Iraq.

Quiles said while he was never directly involved in combat – he and his unit were always prepared for it.

“That’s what we were trained to do, you know? Be aware of your surroundings,” he shared. “You’re in a desert, you know? Anybody could just pop up out of nowhere. We knew the enemy was there.”

Quiles came home in 2016 and entered the reserves so he could earn a degree in business.

He said he liked being on active duty more.

“The reserves are, a lot less, a lot less tension, a lot less of everything really,” Quiles stated. “And, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing but, you know, you’re so used to being top tier, like on point.”

If called upon, Quiles said he’d go back to serve again in a heart beat.

“If they had like a draft, they need, you know, veterans, people that have the experience to come back, I’ll do it,” said Quiles.

He told 7 NEWS he still keeps in touch with the soldiers he served alongside, some daily.

“We were brothers. I mean, we, we ate together, we slept together, we, we did our duties together,” Quiles said. “All of the hard times we had were nearly good times because of the people that we were with.”

In the future, Quiles will focus on building up his new business, Titan Security.

“We do armed and unarmed services for clients. And I am hiring, I’ve already got three veterans that are already on board right now,” said Quiles.

He said it keeps his mind active and present and excited for the future.

Matthew Quiles, Thank You for Your Service.

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