KAG
SALINA–The Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame induction, graduation and commissioning ceremonies will be held Saturday, Aug. 27, at 1 p.m. at the Kansas Highway Patrol Academy, 2025 E. Iron Ave, Salina.
This year’s Hall of Fame ceremony will honor retired Kansas Army National Guard officer Col. Gordon Kuntz, Hays.
Retired Col. Gordon D. Kuntz, Hays, entered the United States Army March 10, 1975, completing Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He attended Common Basic Electronics Training for Tactical Microwave Repair at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and was stationed at Fort Jackson as a COBET instructor. Kuntz re-enlisted as a patient care specialist in 1978 and was assigned to the pediatrics unit at Madigan Army Medical Center Fort Lewis, Washington. One year later, he completed the patient care specialist course and was assigned to Company B, 1st Medical Battalion, Fort Riley, Kansas, until leaving active duty Feb. 29, 1984, with nine years of active duty.
After one year, he joined the Kansas Army National Guard and was assigned as the medical noncommissioned officer at the Kansas Military Academy in Salina, Kansas, where he entered Class 30 of the Kansas Officer Candidate School. Upon graduation, Kuntz remained as the medical noncommissioned officer while he completed his nursing education. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry and assigned as a junior tactical officer at the KMA until the time of his direct commission in the Nurse Corps in January 1988, where he served as the nurse/medical officer at the KMA. Other duty assignments included clinical nurse, nurse practitioner, training officer and head nurse for Physical Examination Team B with Detachment 5, Headquarters State Area Command, Lenexa.
Kuntz served as the executive officer and deputy commander for the Kansas Medical Detachment prior to attending the U.S. Army War College in July 2006. Upon completion of the War College, he was assigned as the Medical Detachment commander until his deployment to the Horn of Africa in June 2010 as the senior medical nurse with the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment.
His education includes a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Wichita State University. He is a life member of the National Guard Association of Kansas, a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans and a member of the Kansas State Nurses Association.
Kuntz is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Advance Joint Professional Military Education Program and the Medical Strategic Leadership Program.
Kuntz’s awards include Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with silver oak leaf cluster, Army Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and two bronze oak leaf clusters, Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and two bronze oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Ribbon with bronze star, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver hourglass and M device, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon with numeral two, numerous Kansas awards, Expert Field Medical Badge, and the order of Military Medical Merit.
Governor Sam Brownback will be the keynote speaker at Saturday’s event.
Eleven Kansas National Guard officer candidates will receive their commission. These candidates are being commissioned after completing 13 months of training. Training consists of physical and mental challenges in the forms of classroom instruction, simulated combat leadership and physical fitness tests. The individuals accepting their commissions to the rank of second lieutenant are Mark Allen, Olathe; John Denkler, Liberty, Missouri; Joshua Heisler, Newton; Patrick Hill, Hutchinson; Landon Keim, Sabetha; Justin Koehn, Wamego; David Lawrenz, Topeka; Jessica Saxton, Fairview; Angee Sisco, Belle Plaine; Sharell Wheeler, Lee’s Summit, Missouri; and James Whitney, Topeka.
The 235th Regiment, Kansas Army National Guard, Salina, hosts the annual OCS Hall of Fame and Commissioning Ceremonies. The OCS Hall of Fame was established in 2003 by retired Col. Robert Bloomquist, former commander of the 235th Regiment to pay special tribute to those outstanding officers and leaders who are graduates of the program and have since retired, left the military or passed away.
Officers to be considered for selection into the OCS Hall of Fame have attained the rank of colonel or higher, have been awarded the Medal of Honor, were killed in action or died in a combat zone.
When the OCS Hall of Fame was established, it was determined that the induction ceremony would coincide with the commissioning ceremony for the officers. This allows the newest officers of the Kansas Army National Guard to read the biographies of Hall of Fame inductees and the older officers of the Kansas Army National Guard.