CPT (R) Mitch Reed

CPT (R) Mitch Reed sat down with me for Heroes I Know.

Thirty-seven. Came in 2010. Baker. Florida Panhandle. Lower Alabama. ADA shirt on. He had been at a school meeting for his kid.

Basic at Jackson. OCS at Benning. BOLC at Sill. Class of 125. One ADA slot. He took it. They laughed. They nicknamed him ADA. His stepdad is a retired lieutenant colonel from missile defense. Rocketry was the hobby. He wanted to be a steward of the Oozle Finch.

First pick was Fort Campbell. SHORAD. Sustainment brigade. Rebel shop. He loved air assault. Sling loads. HLZs. Sentinel radars. Avenger platoon leader a long time. Then Sentinel platoon leader. He took those radars to Afghanistan. Still doing air assault over there.

He felt like a fancy rocket babysitter most days. All that electronics. You almost never shoot. Then C-RAM changed the culture. He went off to Patriot after that.

First Sergeant Jeremy Chapman. Sergeant Mitch. His first platoon sergeant. Those men took the time.

He and his wife are from that Panhandle. Lives circled back. Family at the center. He said so.

First in. Last out. That is how he signed off. That is why we hit record. Get the story on tape before we are too old or too sick to tell it.