Military news

Promotion and award

Lance Cpl. Alex Smith of Brewer, a Parris Island graduate in November 2007, graduated on April 4 from Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., where he was a Distinguished Honor Graduate. He received the Corporal Dillan Gung Ho Award for Leadership and was promoted to Lance Corporal.

Smith is a 2007 graduate of Brewer High School and the son of the late Daryl Smith and Robin Smith of Brewer.

Deployment

HOLDEN – Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher D. Pelkey has deployed overseas to a forward operating base to support the mission of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pelkey, a quality assurance leading petty officer with 18 years of military service, is regularly assigned to the Patrol Squadron 26, Naval Air Station in Brunswick. He graduated in 1988 from John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor and received an associate degree in 2007 from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla. He is the son of Sally Hicks-Bolton of Holden and Terrence Pelkey of Bangor.

BANGOR – Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Benjamin Donnerstag has been ordered to Sather Air Base, Iraq, as a member of the 447th Air Expeditionary Group.

Donnerstag, a firefighter with 10 years of military service, is assigned to the 101st Air Refueling Wing, Maine Air National Guard, Bangor. He is a 1993 graduate of Penobscot Valley High School in Howland and the son of Jane Donnerstag of Howland.

The 447th AE Group is responsible for supporting U.S. and coalition forces with airlift, supplies and delivery of forces and materiel into the region. Sather Air Base is the largest and busiest airport terminal in Iraq, moving 3,000 to 10,000 passengers per week.

Basic training

WINTERPORT – Army National Guard Pvt. Philip Higgins II graduated from basic military training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. Higgins is a 2006 graduate of Hampden Academy and the son of Philip Higgins of Winterport.

VEAZIE – Army National Guard Pvt. Robin W. Larlee, a 2006 graduate of Schenck High School in East Millinocket, graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. She is the daughter of Peter Larlee of East Millinocket and Sharon Dickey of Veazie.

Basic training

BANGOR – Air Force Airman Stephen Daniels graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. A 2004 graduate of Bangor High School, he is the son of Jonathan and Debra Daniels of Bangor.

BANGOR – Air National Guard Airman 1st Class William Bruns IV graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He earned distinction as an honor graduate. Bruns is a 1996 graduate of Bangor High School and a 2001 graduate of the University of Maine. He is the son of Susan and William Bruns III of Bangor.

Field training encampment

HAMPDEN – Christopher J. Horn has completed a U.S. Air Force ROTC field training encampment. The training gives students their first exposure to a working Air Force environment to learn and apply skills.

Horn is a student at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. He is the son of Jo Anne Horn of Hampden.

ROTC leadership training

TACOMA, Wash. – Tara J. Flagg has graduated from the Army ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course. She has been commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army.

A 2004 graduate of Bangor High School, Flagg is the daughter of Daniel and Sherrie Sullivan of Bangor.

Stateside assignment

BREWER – Air Force Airman 1st Class Sean W. Bovee has returned to the United States after a deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Bovee, an aerospace maintenance apprentice with two years of military service, is assigned to the 86th Maintenance Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Kaiserslautern, Germany. He is the son of Tim and Patty Bovee of Brewer.