|
|
At his retirement ceremony Jesse Anderson received an America flag. Pictured here with Jesse is his wife Audrey and their two youngest children Hazel and Joshua. Photo courtesy of Shelby Anderson
When Jesse Anderson realized his hopes of playing college football were over, that he was flat broke, the sophomore at North Dakota State University was left with an enduring question, “How am I going to pay for college?”
Enter his decision to join the ROTC. What followed was a 20+ year career in the army highlighted by meeting his wife, Audrey, a fellow ROTC member, and stops in 28 countries, including assigned duty at some of the of most troubled areas around the world.
Along the way the Andersons had six children, Hunter, Emily, Caden, Sophia, Hazel and Joshua. The first and last were born in Germany, the other four at other stops in 13 moves.
So, was it all worth it? Anderson was asked.
“Definitely,” chuckled Jesse from his home in Wisconsin, “I was lucky enough to be at the births of all of my children, but I did miss a lot of firsts, a lot of birthdays. That wasn’t easy. That was tough, but I have a supportive wife and kids who are resilient and understanding.”
The journey begins
This picture was taken in 2004 when Jesse Anderson served as a 1st Lieutenant near Tikrit, Iraq. Photo courtesy of Jesse Anderson
“I entered active duty on December 21, 2001,” said the Major.
Jesse left North Dakota State University—his parents Lyle and Shelby’s alma mater—after he was commissioned as an Engineer Officer from the North Dakota State University ROTC program.
Following college Jesse was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he attended his basic officer training course and subsequently received his first assignment to the 9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany. There, he served as a Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer, and was deployed to Kosovo in support of the Kosovo Forces from June to November 2002, Bosnia in support of the Security Forces from August to September 2003, and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Jesse was in Iraq for 13 months, from February 2004 to March 2005, as the platoon leader for a route clearance platoon. What was it like to clear roadside bombs? He was asked. “It got a little rough from time to time,” he admitted. “We were clearing a route of about 100 miles from Balad to Baiji, Iraq going through the major cities of Samarra and Tikrit. We cleared a lot (he said that with emphasis) of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). We also located and destroyed munitions or enemy artillery pieces. Some of the explosions were so big that the shockwave would take your breath away and shake the ground for miles.”
Upon his return from Iraq, Anderson attended the Engineers Captains Career Course and was later assigned to the 4th Cavalry Brigade, 1st Army out of Fort Knox, Kentucky. There he trained and prepared the National Guard and Reserve Route Clearance units that were set to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. While with the 4th CAV, Anderson deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from January to March 2007, where he trained the Afghanistan National Army Combat Engineer teams in route clearance operations. “I was never in any big cities in Afghanistan, but Highway 1 was the only paved road I saw. Every other road was more of a dirt trail. The people there didn’t throw things away. They “Macgyvered” things together like bikes and vehicles to keep them working.”
Anderson’s next assignment took him to Fort Hood, Texas where he served as the Brigade Engineer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1 Calvary Division, deploying to Iraq in June 2008. Three months into the Brigades deployment, Anderson took command of E Company, 2-12 Calvary, where he oversaw Route Clearance in and around An Nasiriyah.
When Jesse returned from Iraq he took his second command with C Company, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.
In 2010 Jesse and his growing family was sent to the Alaska District US Army Corps of Engineers in Fairbanks, where he served as Deputy Area Engineer and was responsible for over $250 million in Military construction projects that were built in and around Fort Wainwright, Fort Greely, and Clear Air Force Base. Alaska was a good deployment for the Anderson family.
“My wife was born in Wisconsin, but she grew up in Alaska and her siblings lived there. It was a long drive to catch the ferry in Haines, to go see them because Alaska is such a big place, but it was nice to have family there. We made great friends in Alaska. Lifelong friends,” Jesse said.
In 2013, the Anderson family made the long drive down the ALCAN highway to attend the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After completing the course, he was reassigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, but this time as the Brigade Engineer, Chief of Operations, and Brigade S4 for the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
In the Summer of 2015 Jesse assumed the role of Operations Officer for the 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion. In 2016 Major Anderson was assigned to the Raptor Team at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) as the Deputy Senior Engineer and later the Chief of Operations in Hohenfels, Germany.
While he attended the 181st Infantry Brigade Retirement Ceremony held January 21, 2022, at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Jesse has until July 31 to fulfil his service commitment.
“I’m not retired yet, “said Jesse who currently serves as Brigade Partnership Officer in the 181st Multi- Functional Training Brigade, 1st Army. “But I am sending out resumes looking for a construction engineering or project manager position.”
Whoever is lucky enough to hire Anderson should understand that one goal for his family is “to find a place to stay put,” grow some roots and connect with one place.
Awards and Commendations
So, Jesse didn’t mention any of these awards. Nor did he talk much about his short training missions in Ghana or Taiwan or his work in New York City following Hurricane Sandy. It’s a soldier’s life to hurry up and wait and then go, go, go, and soldiers don’t talk much about their service. But here is what the military thought of him during his retirement ceremony.
Major Jesse Anderson’s awards and decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, six Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, the Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 6, and NATO medals (two awards).
One last thing
So, you have six children, mostly homeschooled, who all wrestle. Wrestle? What about football? Afterall, your father was an All-American at NDSU and, among the many other accolades he has earned, he was voted into the Minnesota High School Football Coaching Hall of Fame. So…?
“Well, we moved a lot and the kids started out wrestling in Alaska and just kept with it. My oldest son played football for two years, but because of the cancelled 2020 season and transferring into a new school district in 2021 he wasn’t able to continue, so he focused on wrestling. Hey, wrestling is a good sport,” Jesse poked back. Additionally, his middle son has expressed an interest in playing next fall as a freshman.
Yes, wrestling is a good sport, and Jesse was a good sport for giving this interview. As for his parents, Lyle and Shelby, they are grateful and glad their son and family are home safe and sound. And not living too far away.
“As a mom, I don’t dwell on the fighting dangers he’s encountered. Instead, I liked when he helped in Hurricane Sandy, and when he went to Africa – I think it was Ghana, and when he went to Taiwan,” said Shelby.
“Instead of dwelling on all the painful deployments when he was away from his family, I loved how he and his family embraced their many new surroundings as new adventures to be explored, especially in Europe!
“Because of his military career, Lyle and I got to travel to many new and exciting places!! We were fortunate to have been able to visit him and his family on most of their posts. We are so very proud of him and his family,” said Shelby.
Leave a Reply