Wisconsin Soldier Answers the Call

October 13, 2009

Sgt. 1st Class Chet Millard briefs members of Route Clearing Patrol 5 of the 951st Sapper Wisconsin Army National Guard as they prepare for a convoy to clear IEDs in Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Photog Name)

Every day, public service workers answer the call of duty. Many – police officers, firefighters and corrections officers, for example – take enormous risks to save lives. Others keep our roads in good repair, make sure our children arrive safely at school, and perform back-breaking work caring for the sick and disabled.

Others, like the hundreds of AFSCME members who have been placed on active duty since 2001, have gone an extra mile by serving as active duty military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan or in the United States.

Sgt. First Class Chet Millard is one of these dedicated public service workers.  Employed as a corrections officer at the Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls and a member of Local 219 (Council 24), the 32-year-old platoon sergeant of Wisconsin National Guard’s 951st Engineer Company has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. He is one of about 100 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers currently deployed to the area.

Last month, as Millard led a platoon of soldiers who were disarming roadside bombs in Eastern Afghanistan, an explosion ripped through their vehicle. Millard and three comrades were injured, but survived. Although he suffered brain trauma and bruises to his back and knees, Millard recovered in a hospital in Afghanistan, got back on his feet and rejoined his unit.

Millard was featured on the cover of the October 12, 2009 issue of Time Magazine which covers the war in Afghanistan. His unit’s job is considered the most dangerous job in a war zone. “They bear the burdens of the bombs they found,”observes one reporter, “or worse yet, the ones they missed.”

Reacting to the cover photo, Millard’s father, Ron, calls his son “a good soldier, great son and good father.” Millard’s parents, his wife and four kids are all looking forward to November when the soldiers of the 951st are scheduled to come home after a 15-month deployment.

Council 24 Exec. Director Marty Beil said this about Millard’s heroism: “You see and hear about these kinds of things on the six o’clock news. But when it’s in your family, it sends goose bumps and a new sense of respect and appreciation for what these brave individuals do and the risks they take to protect our country.”