Veterans Day
To celebrate Veterans Day, we are highlighting some of our team members who have served and protected our country. Learn more about each of their stories and thank you to all veterans for your service to our nation.
Steve Lynn (Quality Technician | Albert Lea, MN)
Following high school graduation, I decided to join the military vs. attending college. I enlisted into the U.S. Air Force in 1986, during my senior year of high school, and started basic training one week after graduation. I only intended to serve four years, but after the first year, I knew this was the life for me. I re-enlisted five more times and chose to retire from the military in 2008 after a total time served of 22 years and 20 days. I was trained in aviation electronics, also known as Avionics, to perform ground maintenance on inertial and radar navigation systems, flight instruments, autopilot, and compass systems, including several other auxiliary systems used for flight. My entire career was centered around the Boeing C-135 series aircraft, but primarily on the KC-135R Stratotanker air-refueling aircraft. Working on this aircraft allowed me to see the world. I have traveled to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central America, and many points in between- I have walked the streets of London and the markets in Korea, swam in the Red Sea, and seen the Great Pyramids and the Panama Canal. I have also experienced a negative 75° wind chill in Alaska and 167° inside an aircraft sitting on the ramp in the Middle Eastern desert. I had the opportunity to sleep in a tent with scorpions as well as in five-star hotels. I could not have wished for a better life than what I had in the Air Force. My experiences and the people I have met along the way not only developed me into what I think is a good person but also reaffirmed that, even with Her flaws, we do live in the greatest country on earth.
Mikey Mueller (Senior Sales Service Representative | Brooklyn Park, MN)
I served in the U.S. Army and spent 4 years with the 82nd Airborne Division, deploying 3 times for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom to Afghanistan, and Operation Unified Response in support of America’s response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. I served in an Airborne Heavy Weapons Infantry Company with our primary mission to conduct ground combat/security-focused missions in any environment we were tasked with. The major lessons I learned were the value of teamwork, discipline, and hard work. I look back at that time as an indispensable experience, greatly shaping me into the person I am today.
Kevin Ferguson (Order Picker | Oklahoma City, OK)
I served in the U.S. Navy in the Aviation Supply. My reason for joining was simple; to serve and protect our country. Throughout the eight years of service, my biggest life lesson and impact was the satisfaction of being a part of the military and protecting the United States of America.
Tony Leishman (Director of Manufacturing – East | Richmond, VA)
I served in the U.S. Army for four years as a Mechanized Infantryman. I joined because it was the right environment for me to grow up and learn responsibilities. Prior, I was a consummate underachiever with very little ambition and a narrow perspective on the future. That’s not to say I wasn’t a hard worker. Growing up in a farm community, I learned to work hard and slog through the mundane routines- but did not provide me with much direction. In the Army, I was exposed to an entirely different culture. I developed skills in accomplishing goals and working through difficult situations without the ability to throw up my hands and give up. But mostly, I learned to function in a team- understanding that my accomplishments are the team’s accomplishments. I became aware of my impact on other people’s abilities to accomplish goals. I learned to stop thinking about myself and to put the team’s needs before mine. These skills have been crucial for my life since leaving the military.
