Where did you serve and what did you do?
USN from 1997-2009
1997-2001 USS Princeton CG-59
Operation Desert Fox Iraq (1998) VBSS Member ( inspecting ships coming out of Shatt Al Arab )
2001-2004 Recruit Division Commander Great Lakes, IL
2004-2009
USS John C. Stennis (cvn-74)
2004 Iraqi Freedom (Arabian Gulf)
Tell us how your dog is helping you continue #StillServing in your community.
My dog started his Service Dog training at the beginning of 2022, and I took over as the Commander for my post that June. Since then my dog “Zip” had been to every memorial service with me, marched with the VFW on n the golden Parade, has been to State convention, and national convention. Everywhere we go Zip assists For example when we do out Poppy drives we put them on Zip and have him walk up to people to give them (have pictures of too). We are also spend our time working with the state Commander to educate people on the importance of having a “Trained” service dog.
Why do you do it?
I had a hard time when I got out of the service. When I started getting help from the VA they mentioned that I might feel better if I joined a VFW post. When I did it helped me out so much, I wanted to utilize the fact I was honored with a service dog, to educate other veterans on how a service dog can truly help you over come the hole the military left and no longer being the “tip of the sphere”