The Rapid Supporter of the week is Information Technology (IT) Acting Director Trent Combs. As the S6, Combs is our in-house computer guru and if you are reading this on a computer you use at work, then the chances are that Trent is responsible for keeping your system up and running.
Trent is also a world traveler who has been to Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and many more countries around the world, but he grew up right outside of base in Yorktown, Va.
This week, we’ll also recognize his family members, too, for their extraordinary contribution to the defense of our country; Most of the men and women in his family served or are currently serving in the Army, Marines, Air Force or Navy, going back many generations since the 1960’s.
Combs chose to enlist in the Army in a medical specialty because he wanted to have the opportunity to grow, learn and travel.
He started his career as a Patient Administration Specialist, entrusted with serving the military community and their Families and providing essential support to the hospital’s clinical staff.
He landed a lucky assignment in Fort Shafter, Hawaii, and learned how to speak in medical terms and use statistical reports to manage a complex database of records necessary to track patient health. In addition to his official duties, he had additional responsibilities to provide IT support to his unit.
Combs said his first IT course was a requirement to help his unit, but he kept learning more to further his education as much as possible. He stacked up certifications and went on to earn an Associate’s, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the IT fields.
Then, when he got out of the Army, he looked for IT jobs that required travel.
One of the jobs that made an impact on him before he got to the 597th Transportation Bde. was as a contractor for a unit with a special mission.
He traveled to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Korea and worked with Archeologists to locate Soldiers who went missing in war, providing IT support and maintaining modern technologies necessary to identify and recover the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action.
“There was a sense of pride and it was an honor to help recover those that served because they sacrificed so much for our country,” Comb said.
“Our mission also helped family members, too, by letting them know that their loved ones weren’t forgotten,” Combs added, “Our mission helped start the process of closing that loop.”
| Date Taken: | 02.19.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.19.2021 22:21 |
| Story ID: | 389447 |
| Location: | YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Veteran 'still serving,' fullfilling important roles in Army information systems, by Julie A Kelemen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
