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| DEQ Military Salute |
 Memorial Day, May 26, 2008
Flag Day, June 14, 2008
Independence Day, July 4, 2008
Veterans Day, November 11, 2008
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has created this web page to honor our military service women and men who are currently active in the armed forces, and that have relatives who work within MDEQ. Each entry listed below provides information about the individual's rank, to whom they are related to, and where they are currently stationed. If you wish to send correspondence, or a care package please contact the sponsoring MDEQ personnel listed under their name.
Relative and friends of DEQ staff currently serving in the Armed Forces:
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Sgt.Ian Jordan Gohlke, U.S. Army. Ian, is the son of John Gohlke (WHMD) and stepson of Holly Gohlke (WB). He joined the service in July 2004. He has served one tour of duty in Iraq as a door gunner on a Blackhawk helicopter. He has recently been reassigned as the lead mechanic on a Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter, stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY with the 101st Airborne Division, 159th Aviation Brigade, 7-17th Calvary, Bravo Troop. Sgt. Gohlke is scheduled for a second deployment within the next year, this time to Afghanistan.
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Sgt. Richard Thompson, 3/330th Infantry Regiment, 2/100th Training Division (OSUT), U.S. Army Reserve. Sgt. Thompson is part of the Office of Criminal Investigations.
(Sgt. Thompson is in the front row, to the right)
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Airman First Class Earlece Lynette Hayes, 37th Training Support Squadron, Lackland AFB TX. Earlece, age 19, is the daughter of Renee' M. Hayes (WB).
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Corporal Kalin Robert Hayes, age 22, Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, USMC. Kalin, age 21, is the son of Renee' M. Hayes (WB).
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Corporal Sean O'Connor, USMC, is currently stationed at Fort Lejeune, North Carolina after serving a tour atAl Asad Air Base, Iraq. Sean, is the nephew of Geoff List (WB).
(Sean is on the right)
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2nd Lt. Colleen Schoenfeld, U.S. Army, Aviation Branch. Colleen, is the niece of Geoff List (WB). Colleen is married to 2nd Lt. John Schoenfeld.
(Left to Right- Sgt McKenney, 2nd Lt. Colleen Schoenfeld, Captain Kristan Schoenfeld, and Lt. Colonel David Schoenfeld)
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2nd Lt. John Schoenfeld, U.S. Army, Aviation Branch, Fort Benning, Georgia then Fort Rucker. John, is the nephew of Geoff List (WB).
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Captain Kristan Schoenfeld, U.S. Army, 31st Combat Support Hospital. Kristan, is the niece of Geoff List (WB). Captain Schoenfeld returned to the United States from her assignment in Camp Bucca, Iraq on June 14, 2008.
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Sgt. John Jensen, U.S. Army, Fort Bragg. Sgt. Jensen has served two terms in the middle east; one in Kuwait and another in Iraq near Bagdad (returned last year). He will be serving in Korea from July of this year for 16 months. He is a career soldier and plans to retire from the military after 20 years of service. Sgt. Jensen is the nephew of Teresa Walker, AQD.
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Staff Sergeant Matthew Gormely, USAF, 72nd Security Forces Squadron, S4 Section, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City. SSgt. Gormely has served 5 overseas tours: Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. Matt, is the brother of Anastasia Gormely, FBSD.
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Lance Corporal Corry R. Sisson, USMC, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron, Okinawa, Japan. Corry, is the stepson of Phil Roycraft, Cadillac District, WHMD.
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Private First Class Steven E. Clark, USMC, 2nd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment, II Marine Expeditionary Force - currently serving in Iraq. Steven is the nephew of Jean Shekter, WB.
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Airman First Class Matthew Gregg, USAF, Yakota Air Force Base, Japan (July, 2006 - July 2008). Matt is the son of Sandy Gregg (ESSD/Laboratory) and Rod Gregg. Matt is 23 years old.
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Lance Corporal Kyle B. Conforti, USMC, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina. Kyle, is the son of Richard Conforti, WHMD.
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SFC William C. Halverson, US Army Reserve has returned stateside after serving in Iraq and Afganistan. Bill is the brother of Diane Carlson, WB. SFC Halverson previously served as a nuclear specialist in the Navy, taught English in Afganistan, and served in Iraq with the troops he trained in Fort Bragg. He was very pleased with the Humvee and requested supplies provided for his overseas service. His Country supported him well. SFC Halverson continues to train stateside.
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STSSA Geraurd C Dupuis is the son of Beth Jepsen-Dupuis (FBSD). Geraurd joined the Navy in June of 2006 and after graduating from the Naval Great Lakes Station he was sent to Navel Submarine School at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. Geraurd is assigned to the USS Philadelphia (SSN 690) and is presently deployed in the Persian Gulf as a sonar technician.
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Cpl Michael E. Schmidt II, U.S. Marine Corps, is a family friend of Dolores Saban and son of Michael and Suzanne Schmidt of Durand, Michigan. Cpl Schmit was decorated with the Navy and Marine Special Achievement Medal, for outstanding performance of duty. Cpl Schmidt is currently serving in Djibouti with the Air Wing of the Marine Corps; Marine Helicopter Sq HMH 464. They fly CH-53E helicopters. Dijbouti is in the northern horn of Africa on the Red Sea between Somalia and Enitrea. |
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Sgt. Lexey Hall, U.S.Army, is currently stationed in England after her return from a tour of duty in Korea. Sergeant Hall is assigned to the 404th Military Intelligence Company, 66th Military Intelligence Group. Sgt. Hall's sister, 1Lt Dracy Drayton is stationed at Fort Benning, GA. They are the daughters of Ben Hall (RRD).
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Sgt. Derrick Huther, U.S. Army, is currently stationed and serving in Iraq. He is located between Al Najaf and Al Basrah, close to the border of Kuwait. He is in the Memorial Activities Branch, known as Grave Registration. He is the son of Rudolph Huther and a friend of Dolores Saban.
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| PVT2 Tim Sullivan, 502 Military Intelligence, U.S. Army, is currently stationed in Baghdad. He is the nephew of Andrea F. Sullivan (OGS). |
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| Recruit Benjamin B. Wozniak, 1st Bn. Alpha Co. Platoon 1011, MCRD San Diego, California is currently attending Marine Corps Boot Camp. Ben is the son of Gary Wozniak (WB). |
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Tributes
This section is to honor the soldiers of DEQ families, who have fought bravely, and who have died for our country in order to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy. The section includes personal background information regarding where they lived, and where they were last stationed. As you read these tributes, please remember the families who have lost their loved ones.
Lt.Colonel Kip Paul Taylor
U.S. Army
Brother of Ann Taylor, DEQ-LWMD
Lieutenant Colonel Kip Paul Taylor's 16-year ascent through the Army ranks began when he received his commission from the Reserve Officers Training Corps at
Northern
Michigan
University
, a unit run by his father, Lieutenant Colonel Donald R. Taylor.
A few months after graduation,
Taylor
was shipped to a base in
Nuremberg
,
Germany
, where he served for 3 1/2 years. The
Michigan
native returned stateside at the end of 1989 for a 15-month stint as an instructor at Fort Benjamin Harrison in
Indiana
. He was again sent on a foreign tour in 1991, this time as an adjutant for a task force in
Honduras
. After that five-month assignment, he rose to commander of a troop brigade back in
Indiana
, where he remained until the summer of 1994.
He moved from base to base for four years before arriving at the Pentagon as executive officer in the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel in July 1998. At about
9:40 a.m.
, Lt. Colonel Taylor, 38, was killed when American Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.
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Marine Lance Cpl. Troy Nealey
USMC
Son of Annette Nealey, DEQ-ESSD
Lance Corporal Troy Douglas Nealey, 24, of Eaton Rapids, Reservist, U. S. Marine Corps, 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division, Charlie Company, Lansing, MI. was killed in action in Anbar providence, Iraq, on October 29, 2006.
Troy was born in Wheat Ridge, CO, on July 15, 1982. He grew up in Grand Ledge and Eaton Rapids, graduating from Eaton Rapids High School in 2001. Troy enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 2004, completing basic training at the MCRD, San Diego, CA. Charlie Company, 1/24th, was activated June 1, 2006 and deployed September 27, 2006.
Charlie Company was in Iraq just one month when LCpl Nealey became its first casualty.
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Resources:
When should the US flag be flown?
Flag Honors In Proclamation No. 2003-4, signed by Governor Granholm, U.S. flags are ordered lowered to half-staff throughout the state of Michigan and to half-mast on Michigan waters whenever one of Michigan's own is killed in the line of duty.
U.S. Flags:
The following links provide general information regarding the purchase, display of, and disposal of U.S. Flags:
http://www.united-states-flag.com/
http://www.petersonflags.com/flaginfo.htm
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