Troop Rotation IBEW Style
May 2005 IBEW Journal
The names of the Iraqi towns Tikrit and Fallujah and the city of Mosul are familiar from the nightly news. Scott Lennerton, a journeyman wireman in Boston, Massachusetts, Local 103, recently returned from service in all three, where he wired buildings and power plants in the war zone.
A petty officer first class in the U.S. Navy Reserves Seabees, Lennerton says: "I’m proud of what I did over there, but it wasn’t any picnic." He demonstrated his pride by bringing back a flag that was flown in Iraq for display in the Local 103 hall.
After seven months "on the ground," Scott is relieved to be back home with his wife, Phyllis and 5-year-old son, Adam.
David Braun and Mike Knittle, members of Lorain, Ohio, IBEW Local 129 and Marine Reservists are headed for Iraq.
Brian Baker, Local 129 business manager, says that Knittle, a fourth-year apprentice and Braun, a journeyman wireman are both good workers who will be missed on the job. The local has already taken up a collection for the two Marines and Baker has asked them to just "let the local know what they need" when they get to Iraq.
"We’re all praying for their safe return," he adds.
Shawn Quinn, Chester, Pennsylvania Local 654, returned home recently from Iraq. An Army Reserves staff sergeant with the 302nd Transportation Company out of Fort Eustis, Virginia, Brother Quinn spent the majority of his tour at the Logistical Support Center in Balad.
As a nuclear biochemical non-commissioned officer, he helped train soldiers on how to react to a chemical attack, but given the unlikelihood of such an assault, was able to put his electrical skills to good use.
"Of all the electrical work I did over there, none was more appreciated by our soldiers than the air conditioning," he said. "I taught myself a few things about HVAC work wiring up air conditioning in those tents."
The hardest part of being in a hostile environment wasn’t enduring the desert heat or escaping the almost daily mortar explosion, says Quinn. It was being away from his wife, Mary Jane, and his 3-year-old daughter, Julia.
Quinn feels fortunate to have worked with several IBEW members while stationed in Balad. "The IBEW members in Iraq," he says, "seem to have banded together, not just to help each other, but to help everyone."
From left, Chuck Till, Local 704 President Gary
Freiburger, and Local 704 Business Agent Dan Hammel.
Sgt. 1st Class Chuck Till, Dubuque, Iowa Local 704, returned from service in Iraq with the Army Reserves HSC 389th combat heavy engineers. Till presented his local with a "Patriotic Employer Award," a certificate from the group, Employer Support of Guard and Reserves, a Department of Defense national committee.
The certificate recognizes the local for contributing to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in the U.S. National Guard and reserve forces.
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