The student news site of Coginchaug Regional High School

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The student news site of Coginchaug Regional High School

CRHS News

The student news site of Coginchaug Regional High School

CRHS News

Sergeant First Class Michelle Kinell – US Army

Sergeant+First+Class+Michelle+Kinell+-+US+Army

Sergeant First Class Michelle Kinell – US Army

32 years of service

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Kinell in her dress uniform at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Sergeant First Class Michelle Kinell joined the Army Reserve when she turned 32 years old. Her two kids were 12 and 13 at the time. Kinell is a Patient Administration Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge. She is a rank of Sergeant First Class E-7 (which stands for enlisted, seventh rank up the chain of nine for enlisted personnel). She went through basic military training at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri and Fort Sam in Houston, Texas for her job in Patient Administration. “The training is hard, challenging, and teaches you how to become independent but also how to come together as a team, to rely on one another.”

Kinell manages the flow of patients from the point of injury to the closest military hospital with the best capabilities to treat his or her injury. In Guatemala, for example, some people traveled three days on foot just to get the dental care that the US military was providing. Kinell says the Army has provided so many opportunities for her; she was sent to Kuwait from Dec. 2013 to Sept. 2014 with a Combat Support Hospital. When asked if she had any advice for somebody wanting to join the Army she said, “This question usually gets me into trouble because the first question I ask is if they are ready to die for their country. That is usually a pretty big shocker, but it is ultimately the bottom line question.”

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Kinell and her Army friends on Saddam Hussain’s thrown in Iraq.

Kinell says how the Army is an absolutely amazing opportunity, but there is a price. She has missed several family events, weddings, graduations, family reunions, and births. Her biggest supporter through all of this has been her husband, Steve Kinell. “He is the most positive influence for the success I’ve had,” said Kinell.

Michelle Kinell is my aunt and has been in the Army for 18 years. She is now 50 years old and lives in Ohio.

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