Fall 2024

My brother, Paul, retired from military service on June 30th of this year. He had been in the United States Army for 37 years, 10 months and 9 days…. not that he was counting. This will be a tremendous change for him since Army life has been all he has known for more than half of his life. While he is now looking forward to the next chapter of his life, his military career has much to be celebrated.

I think one of the biggest accomplishments Paul has to be proud of, is starting his career as an enlisted man and working his way through the ranks to a Lieutenant Colonel. I don’t really know a lot about military ranks, but I do think there is a lot to be said about anyone who starts on the bottom rung in an organization and works hard to advance their position. Paul was an infantry soldier, a grunt when he started. He was stationed in Panama during Operation Just Cause, where he was in the middle of the invasion to take out Noriega. He was a trained paratrooper and while he did not serve in Iraq during the Gulf War, he did serve two tours in Iraq in the early 2000s when Sadam Hussein was taken out of power and one tour in Afghanistan after 9/11/2001. He went on to command his own battalion at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas and from there has had an integral part working with US Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. His last assignment was in Vincenza, Italy where he worked with operations to oversee North Africa and Morocco. Evidently, this is one of the most coveted duty stations, so it’s nice to see he ended on a high note.

Outside of these highlights, I really don’t know too much of what Paul did in the Army. I think because most of it was top secret. I do know that I am enormously proud of him, and his commitment and duty have given me an everlasting appreciation and respect for military personnel and veterans.

At Kindred Financial Partners, we have been able to honor many of our clients who are veterans over the years. People who have served in all branches of the military going back to World War 2. As of this writing, we still have one remaining WWII Veteran! It is important to us to honor all of our Veteran clients. Each year we hold an annual Veterans Event/Luncheon just to say thank you. Have we missed you? If so – forgive us – but also, please let us know so that we can be sure to include you going forward. When did you serve and in which branch of the military? We want to know!

Freedom does not come without a price. We believe there is no greater sacrifice but to give your life, time and service to protecting our freedoms and our country. Thank you to all veterans and their families for your service and sacrifices!