Veteran Salute: Serving other veterans
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Serving more than two decades with the Army, Master Sergeant Michael Cole worked around the clock helping fellow soldiers get what they deserved as a Human Resource NCO.
Inspired by his father and older brother who served in the military, Cole found his passion in helping others through the Human Resource role.
“I was not the type of person who would ever say no," Cole said. "I would say let me look into it, let me see if I can make it work. 99% of the time I could fix any problem a soldier had, just because that was our job. It wasn’t our job to do them a favor, it was our job to take care of them, so they could go fight the wars or fill the trucks, whatever their job, Supply Sergeant, whatever they were.”
That mindset wasn't strictly for those out on the battlefield.
“It’s not only taking care of the soldiers, it’s taking care of the soldiers families," Cole said. "So if a soldier deploys, leaves their family behind and is deployed to war or helping with a hurricane or whatever they may be doing, if they’re worried about each other, then they’re not going to perform as well in the mission. So if a soldier knows we’re back here taking care of their families, making sure their families are paid, making sure everything goes as smooth as possible, the soldier is going to serve better.”
When Desert Storm kicked off, Cole and his reserve unit were among the first to mobilize to Fort Campbell, trading off with the hospital personnel there, so they could deploy with the 101st Air Force Division overseas.
“They needed some assistance from me to kind of integrate the reservist into the regular army, so that’s kind of what I did," Cole said. "We were there from September of 1990 to almost May or June of '91. Everybody was still away from their families for a very long time, and being the full timer for the unit I felt it my responsibility to take care of them even more, and taking care of their families back in Greenville.
Cole went on to achieve the rank of Master Sgt. and would serve as the Chief of Enlisted Promotions for the U.S. Army Reserves. Even after his decades of service came to an end, his time helping soldiers was far from over.
“When I retired in 2006, I was hired at Fort Leavenworth to be the Personnel Chief for the Command General Staff College," Cole said. "I did that for three years, I became the deputy of the student division. In 2009 I became the operations officer for the department of army tactics, and I’ve been in that role ever since.”
In addition to taking care of those students and instructors, Cole is also a proud member of the American Legion, staying plenty busy with the organization on year 14 as the Post Adjutant.