Photo By Crystal Farris | Brig. Gen. John Goodale, assistant adjutant general – Army, pins Lora Rainey Breen...... read more read more
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Idaho Army National Guard Soldier Lora Rainey Breen was promoted to colonel in a ceremony held Nov. 30 on Gowen Field. Rainey, who has served as an Idaho Guardsman for 20 years will now serve as state staff judge advocate.
Her promotion marks the first time in seven years a colonel has held the position of state staff judge advocate and the first time a female Soldier has held it.
“It’s surprising to me that I am the first female,” said Rainey. “It’s also humbling and I’m certainly proud that I was able to push that box, but I am not alone in female officers that are doing great things.”
With the promotion, Rainey is now the senior ranking female officer in the organization.
“We are very excited to have her as the senior ranking female officer of the Idaho Army National Guard,” said Brig. Gen. John Goodale, assistant adjutant general - Army. “Col. Rainey has done an outstanding job throughout her career and will continue to serve the organization well.”
In her position, she is responsible for advising the state’s command staff on legal matters, as well as overseeing all military legal services provided within the state.
In addition to being a member of the Idaho Army National Guard, Rainey is also a partner at Breen Veltman Wilson PLLC, where she represents employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation matters. Rainey said she hopes to use that experience to strengthen the organization with her community ties.
“I think there is something very significant about not being fulltime (military) and being able to bring in my ties from the community and the work that I do,” said Rainey. “Those kinds of things tie into the work that happens on Gowen Field and what we do in the Idaho National Guard.”
The ceremony was held at John W. Rainey Hall, a building dedicated to her father 20 years ago that now serves as an Army Reserves center. John was a Vietnam War veteran who served as commander of the Idaho Army Reserve’s 321st Engineer Battalion from 1976 to 1978. Rainey asked to have the ceremony there to reconnect with her father and to honor his memory.
“My father loved the Army deeply,” said Rainey. “I want to thank him for instilling his love of the military and service to this country in me, and setting me on the path years later that led me here today.”
In the hours leading up to her ceremony, Rainey listened to a recording of a speech her father once gave. She received the recording from a fellow officer when the building was dedicated in his name and chose to wait to listen to it for the right occasion. It was the first time she heard his voice in 32 years.
“With his southern drawl he described how that steel trap armor mind always ‘snapped up right away’ or ‘kicked in’ when he had to make fast decisions,” said Rainey. “After I stopped crying I had a chuckle at the fact that somehow decades later I ended up in an armor brigade as well.”
Rainey closed her ceremonial remarks by thanking family, friends and coworkers for the support and motivation that got her to this point in her career.
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2017 13:33 |
| Story ID: | 258449 |
| Location: | BOISE, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 629 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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