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Unbridled Service: Why they serve in Kentucky

Nov. 18, 2010 | By kentuckyguard
ACH By Capt. Andi Hahn, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Public Affairs Officer Spc. Phillip Hensley, [caption id="attachment_4059" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Spc. Phillip Hensley, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry"] MIDDLESBORO, Ky.—Spc. Phillip Hensley, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry based out of Middlesboro, Ky., joined the Kentucky National Guard to create a better future for his Family.
Hensley is married to his wife Rebecca and has three children, Lemisha, Dominique and Takayla and works full-time for the Kentucky Guard as a mobilization support specialist which allows him to be close to his home and Family.
“Had I not joined the Kentucky Army National Guard, I don’t know where my Family would have ended up in this small town,” said Hensley, who has served six years in the Guard.
“Now I can afford to go to school to further my education and provide a better future for my Family which I am so grateful for,” he said.
Hensley said the training he received from the National Guard has opened up many job opportunities that were previously unavailable to him. He deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005-to-2006 and said his favorite memory with the Kentucky National Guard was participating in Operation Jump Start, the National Guard Border Patrol mission in 2007.
Hensley said he has high hopes of acquiring a full-time position in the Active Guard Reserve program and strives to achieve the rank of command sergeant major.
“The Guard is my life,” Hensley said. “Knowing that I can provide for my Family with the support of the National Guard is a success in my eyes.”

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