Lt. Col. Ferdon honored by Minnesota Wild
Lt. Col. Keith Ferdon of Motley, along with his military team, was honored during a recent Minnesota Wild hockey game at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.
As part of the Wild’s Military Appreciation Night, one of Ferdon’s soldier’s, CPT Ryan Derner, was saluted on the ice during the performance of the national anthem. In addition, six military kids, including Ferdon’s son, Sawyer, were invited out on the ice as part of the opening lineup.
“The recognition was awesome,” Ferdon said, adding that the soldiers received a standing ovation from the entire arena, which was “powerful.”
A member of the Army National Guard for the past 17 years, Lt. Col. Ferdon has had four years of active service. He currently serves as commander of the Minnesota Army National Guard’s 682nd Engineer Battalion located in the St. Cloud/Willmar areas.
This past August, he and his battalion returned after a nine-month deployment to Kuwait, serving under the title of Task Force Wild in honor of the Minnesota hockey team.
According to a press release, the mission of the task force was to provide horizontal and vertical engineer construction in support of coalition forces in the region. The soldiers oversaw the planning and execution of 285 construction projects with an approximate total value of $20.2 million in seven countries: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. The peak strength of Task Force Wild was 1,100 soldiers.
In addition, the unit’s forward support company was responsible for distribution support and maintenance of equipment that increased the battalion’s operational readiness from 59 percent to 91 percent.
“I am proud of what we did on this last deployment and the ways we helped in the fight against Da’esh (ISIS),” Ferdon said recently.
He’s been passionate about the United States of America for as long as he can remember, Ferdon went on; and knew at a very young age that he would like to serve in the military.
Lt. Col. Ferdon grew up in Larson, Wisc., which is near Oshkosh. After high school he attended the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Pt., where he majored in biology. He was also a part of the ROTC program (Reserved Officers Training Corps), which helped pay for his tuition.
The day after he graduated from college in 1995, Ferdon reported to active duty. He was initially stationed at Ft. Knox, Ky., followed by continued training at U.S. Army Ranger School in Ft. Benning, Ga. Later, he was stationed at Ft. Irwin, Calif., where Ferdon says, “I was lucky enough to find my bride.”
He and Debbie eventually moved to Minnesota, settling in the Motley area. Debbie is a teacher at Motley-Staples Middle School; and Keith works at Camp Ripley as a state employee, in addition to serving as a battalion commander. The couple has two children; Brooke and Sawyer.
Lt. Col. Ferdon says that being in the military has allowed him to travel quite a bit and has broadened his view of the world. He has appreciated the opportunity to serve his country, but is hoping he won’t be deployed again any time soon. “I want to be home with my family...I missed a lot while I was stationed overseas.”
He’s glad that the entire family was able to attend the recent Minnesota Wild hockey game with him and to be there when his battalion, Task Force Wild, was proclaimed Hero of the Game.
It’s a shared memory that will stay with each of them for a long time.
