By Jacob Tellers

Travis Bergland, a 2003 Albert Lea High School graduate, had no idea he was going to meet President Barack Obama on Memorial Day.

To celebrate Memorial Day and to speak about his current plans for the military, Obama visited the U.S. military base at Agram Air Field in Afghanistan. That’s where Bergland serves as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army.

According to USA Today, Obama’s well-kept secret visit lasted less than four hours. During that time he met with the base’s commanders, visited wounded soldiers and delivered his speech.

Serving as a backdrop to Obama were several bleachers filled with standing soldiers. Bergland was among them, and people across the globe saw his face on television.

“Everything was kept very secret,” Bergland said. “I didn’t know that I would be standing behind the president until he walked out. We were all pretty floored when we saw him.”

“The bench people were standing on behind me wasn’t very strong,” Bergland said. “I was a little nervous it would collapse, and we would end up being all over the news as a blooper.”

While friends and family had no idea he was going to be on TV, many of them noticed Bergland standing right behind the president and messaged each other.

After the speech, Bergland had a brief chance to talk to Obama and shake his hand.

“He said ‘thank-you.’ I think I said thank-you back.”

It was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Bergland said.

This is Bergland’s second tour in Afghanistan and his third overall. He was also stationed in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. His current deployment began last October and will likely end in September.

Born and raised in Albert Lea, Bergland said he always had known that he was going to enlist in the Army after high school. His father and sister also served in the Army.

Bergland has degrees in political science and psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and had finished one year of law school at the University of St. Thomas before his most recent deployment.