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U.S. Army Sgt. Justen Fernandez stands atop Camp Bondsteel April 14, 2020, outside of Ferizaj/Urosevac, Kosovo.
Fernandez, a native of Washington Heights, New York,, is a member of the New York Army Reserve’s 423rd Military Police Company and is currently deployed in Kosovo as a member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force Regional-Command East Task Force Military Police detachment.
Whether providing security during military events, patrolling Bondsteel and other KFOR installations, or conducting other military-policing operations, Fernandez and 423rd MPs are charged with safeguarding the interests, assets and personnel of KFOR.
Fernandez, who enlisted into the NY Army Reserve as a military police officer in 2014, has served his community and country to further extents than the Army Reserve’s traditional one weekend per month commitment.
A full-time patrol officer with the New York Police Department’s 44th Precinct, Fernandez said patrolling NY’s South Bronx offers him personal fulfillment everyday.
“Every day on patrol is different than the previous,” said Fernandez. “Encountering new challenges and overcoming them in service to the community members is why I chose to protect and serve.”
With nearly two years of NYPD experience, Fernandez said he aims to train and learn new policing knowledge and skills to take back to his civilian colleagues and share with his military subordinates at the end of his tour.
Accounting for the safety of U.S. service members, KFOR personnel and the people of Kosovo is Fernandez’s top priority in Kosovo.
And now accounting for unexpected factors such as the global response to the COVID-19 virus that has not spared Kosovo entirely, Fernandez remains focused on force protection.
“It won’t be easy,” said Fernandez. “But anything is possible with the right state of mind.”
(U.S. Army National Guard photo illustration by Spc. Miguel Ruiz)
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2020 08:55 |
| Photo ID: | 6183016 |
| VIRIN: | 041420-Z-LZ801-1031 |
| Resolution: | 4977x3318 |
| Size: | 6.53 MB |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Hometown: | WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Dual-hatted New York Reservist deploys to Kosovo [Image 5 of 5], by SGT Miguel Ruiz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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