Photo By Staff Sgt. Alyssa Lisenbe | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Spikes and his son, Cpl. Tristan Spikes, both from...... read more read more
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – For the past six years, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Spikes had only seen his son, U.S. Army Cpl. Tristen Spikes, both from Georgetown, Louisiana, for a total of four weeks due to his son’s active-duty service.
Now, father and son are serving side by side on a deployment with the Kosovo Force, or KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping mission that works to ensure freedom of movement and a safe and secure environment for all people in Kosovo.
Tristen, who recently transitioned from active duty to the Louisiana Army National Guard, was given the opportunity to deploy almost immediately with the same unit where his father serves as the S-3 operations noncommissioned officer under the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
“A lot of people don’t understand that I got to see my son graduate high school and then go off at 17 years old to the U.S. Army,” said Richard. “So, getting to spend time with him here every day and catch up on father-son activities is more than a blessing."
For the Spikes family, this deployment was both a family reunion and a full-circle military journey as father and son.
“My dad has always been a role model,” said Tristen. “He was my superhero...I just wanted to follow in his footsteps. I just figured he served, I need to serve and hopefully my son serves. I just want to keep the tradition going.”
When Tristen decided to enlist in 2019, his dad had already been out of the Army for 15 years. He previously served in the Louisiana National Guard from 1995 to 2004.
“One of the main reasons I got back in is because I missed it very badly,” said Richard. “And Tristen actually started talking to me about joining the military in his junior year. I was able to ask him all the incredible questions that a father who's been in the military before asks.”
After several long conversations, both father and son decided to enlist together, a choice that would eventually lead them to the same overseas mission now.
While his dad supports operations for the brigade, Tristan serves as a supply specialist. Together, their efforts contribute to maintaining mission readiness and supporting Soldiers across the area of responsibility at Camp Bondsteel.
“We're both glad to be here together to serve,” said Tristan. “It's really cool, like you don't get to see two generations of the same family going around the world together. That's something you'd only hear in movies. So it's pretty cool.”
Now, when their duties allow, the two spend time together around Camp Bondsteel and on the economy.
“We see each other every day,” said Tristan. “We always check up on each other. We always try to make an effort to at least eat together if we can.”
With his father’s years of military experience, Tristan also gets the chance to learn from him in a deployment setting. He hopes to return to Louisiana and continue serving alongside his father as a member of the Active Guard Reserve.
“I love Louisiana, and I just want to protect and serve the country and also my state at the same time,” said Tristan.
| Date Taken: | 10.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.27.2025 08:11 |
| Story ID: | 551497 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Hometown: | GEORGETOWN, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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