Why they serve: Have experience, will travel

Photo By Staff Sgt. Paul Glover | Staff Sgt. Jonathan Powers, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the medical section for 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a native of Rockholds, Ky., takes a minute to stop for a photo at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, prior to deploying north to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2011. Powers is now on his seventh deployment between his time in the Kentucky Army National Guard and nine years as a Marine before that. (Photo by: U.S. Army Sgt. Paul Evans)  

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

09.04.2011

Courtesy Story

310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

By: Sgt. Paul Evans

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — For many soldiers stationed at Joint Base Balad, it is their first and possibly last deployment overseas. More experienced soldiers may even have two to three deployments under their belt.

Staff Sgt. Jonathan Powers, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the medical section for 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a native of Rockholds, Ky., is a man who has been around the world many times, first as a Marine staff sergeant, then as a Kentucky Army National Guard soldier. Powers is currently on his seventh deployment between the two branches of service.

As for why he does it, Powers said, “I just like doing the job. It’s a pretty good experience.”

Powers first joined the Marines as a mortar operator in July 1993, climbing the enlisted ranks over his nine years in service while visiting 37 different countries on five deployment tours, some onboard Navy ships, mostly across Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

After leaving the Marines in 2002, Powers spent two years performing diplomatic security work with the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. before joining the National Guard as infantry in 2004. Since joining the Guard, Powers has served one deployment in Ramadi, Iraq, as a squad leader performing combat patrols, earning him an Army Commendation Medal.

In civilian life, Powers is in charge of unit readiness for Detachment 2, Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 149th Regiment, in Somerset, Ky. He is three years into completing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., while supporting a wife and three kids.

• Date Taken: 09.04.2011
• Date Posted: 09.04.2011 04:18
• Story ID: 76419
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ