Courtesy Photo | STELZENBERG, Germany - A Hudson, Illinois native and 1998 graduate of Normal Community...... read more read more
STELZENBERG, Germany – A Hudson, Illinois native and 1998 graduate of Normal Community West High School has been promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army effective Dec. 19, 2025
U.S. Army Col. Paul Hester, who currently serves as the Force Health Protection Officer at Medical Readiness Command Europe, has had a long and varied career in service to his country. Hester has a diverse and decorated military career spanning from veterinary medicine to environmental science and multiple combat tours.
Hester’s journey in the Army began after he graduated from Iowa State University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He was commissioned as a captain in the Veterinary Corps and served as a Veterinary Corps Officer at Fort Riley, Kan., from 2006 to 2008.
In 2008, he voluntarily reclassified as a Medical Service Corps officer and began his first tour as an Environmental Science and Engineering Officer in Camp Henry, Korea, with the U.S. Army’s 19th Sustainment Command.
From 2009 to 2011, he served as a project officer with Public Health Command West at Fort Lewis, Wash.
In 2011, Hester deployed to Afghanistan with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. During his deployment, he sustained severe injuries in a blast. After a short period of recovery at home, where he met his newborn son, Mark, for the first time, he returned to Kandahar.
Upon his return to Afghanistan, his then-company commander, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Winnie, concerned for his safety, reduced his battlefield circulation to a minimum, a key tenet of preventive medicine.
Following his deployment, Hester's career took him to Alaska, where he served as the chief of Environmental Health and chief of Industrial Hygiene at Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC) Alaska from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, he took command of the 154th Medical Detachment Preventive Medicine at Camp Walker, Korea.
From 2016 to 2019, he served as the chief of Environmental Health Engineering and chief of Health Risk Management at Public Health Command Europe. Hester then returned to the U.S. to serve as an instructor and later an assistant professor at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Before his current assignment, Hester returned to Landstuhl, Germany, to serve as the director of Environmental Health Sciences at Public Health Command Europe.
Hester is married to Karleen Weitzel Hester of Ames, Iowa. They have four children and currently reside in Stelzenberg, Germany. Hester’s parents are Elaine and Norm Hester, residents of Normal, Illinois.
| Date Taken: | 01.29.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2026 06:04 |
| Story ID: | 557154 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 11 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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