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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2008 No. 08-071 BLOOMQUIST RETIRES FROM KANSAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD A ceremony honoring Col. Robert "Bob" Bloomquist's retirement
from the Kansas Army National Guard will be held on July 11, 2008, at
2:30 p.m. in Room 115 of Nickell Armory, State Defense Building Complex,
2722 SW Topeka Blvd., Topeka. Bloomquist is retiring with more than 31
years of service. Bloomquist joined the Guard in 1976 as a traditional soldier in the Military
Police in Saint Marys as a member of the 69th Infantry Brigade. After
completing Officer Candidate School in 1979, he was commissioned as an
armor officer and charged with a scout platoon, followed by a career in
armor, cavalry and numerous other positions in the 1st Battalion, 635th
Armor. In 1985 he left his civilian job with the Santa Fe Railroad and became
a full-time soldier. During his military career Bloomquist has held commands at the platoon,
company, battalion and regimental levels. While deployed to Kosovo, he
served as the deputy commander for Civil-Military Operations in a Multinational
Brigade in the Balkans, for which he recently received a medal from the
Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Among numerous military awards, his highest federal award, the Legion
of Merit, was presented by the commander, U.S. Army Europe while deployed
in Kosovo. His highest state award, the Distinguished Service Medal, was
presented by the commander of the 235th Regiment, Regional Training Institute
in Salina. Bloomquist holds two master's degrees, a Master of Public Administration
degree from Shippensburg University and a National Security Strategy degree
from the U.S. Army War College. He continues to support numerous organizations
and currently is on the 35th Infantry Division Association Executive Board
and the Kansas National Guard Museum Board. Other memberships include
National Guard Association of Kansas and United States (Life Member),
Association of the United States Army (AUSA), United States Army Armor
Association, Army War College Alumni Association (Life Member), 35th Infantry
Division Association (Life Member) and the Topeka Downtown Rotary. After his retirement, Bloomquist will continue as an Army civilian employee,
instructing in the Command and Leadership Department at Fort Leavenworth.
Bloomquist and his family, wife, Betty; son Billy, age 17; daughter Jessica,
age 14; and daughter Nicole, age 7; reside in Topeka. -30- |
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