Veteran Salute: Serving in health and communications overseas

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Enlisting not once, but three times into the military, Buck Sergeant Randy White supported fellow service members as a radio teletype operator and field medic.

“My first enlistment was with a NATO unit, so I worked at a fixed radio station," White said. "We prepared and sent messages to all different NATO units. Of course, at that time there was still the cold war going on and the Berlin Wall, security was pretty tight so it was an interesting day-to-day. We had to change the length of the antennas, and all the security that went along with it.”

Being a part of that vital work means a lot to the Sergeant.

“Every unit out there needed communications, radio operators, multi-channel communications, satellite communications," White said. "There’s a saying in the signal core, we will keep you in touch with each other. You speak, we’ll talk for you.”  

That's a saying White's unit took to heart, receiving an Army commendation for their field exercise performance.

“My squad got the highest communication, 96, 97%," White said. "No downtime and constant communication, that’s kind of tricky depending on the atmosphere. I was really proud of that. I’ve had three good contact ribbons, army achievement ribbons for the work I do, and did.” 

Looking for a different experience when joining the National Guard, White left the world of radio to take on the role of a Field Medic.

“Mostly I worked the aid station," White said. "It was a forward support army hospital unit 169th. I worked along with the doctors. At that same period of time I was working with the chiropractor's office on the civilian side. That’s when I became a massage therapist, it was really fun. They always kidded me when we went to summer camp I was the only medic that ever took a massage table with him.” 

White would continue his career in the health field as a Medical Assistant for a nursing home and a chiropractor at a Topeka clinic.

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