Members on the Front Lines

September 2005 IBEW Journal

“It’s always an honor to represent all of our members, but it is a special honor and humbling when our members serve in the Armed Forces to protect our freedom,” says Larry Tscherne, business manager/financial secretary of Toledo, Ohio, Local 245.

Ryan and Bobbi Perry

Local 245 member, Chris Elder has been serving in Qatar, assigned to Al-Udeid Air Force Base. A sixth-step outside apprentice, Elder is applying his skills as an electrician/lineman in the Middle East.

Dennis Brown, Springfield, Illinois, Local 51, returned home after 13 months in Iraq with the 856th Transportation Division. A first-year sergeant in the Reserves, Brown was deployed delivering supplies to various locations in Iraq. The Desert Storm veteran has rejoined his co-workers at Baldwin Power Plant.

Apprentice lineman Ryan Perry, also a member of Local 51, was deployed to Iraq in May. A sergeant with the Illinois Army National Guard B Company 2nd-130th Infantry Unit, based in Effingham, Illinois, Perry is currently in Baghdad. He expects to be deployed until June 2006, leaving the home front to his wife, Local 51 member Bobbi Perry.

Second-year apprentice Micah Morris, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Local 995 has been serving with the 256th Army Reserve unit since June 2004. Prior to his latest deployment, Morris served one year in Afghanistan.