Honoring Our Veterans: Lawrence Brett Poe
Author: Matt Nelson
Honoring Our Veterans: Lawrence Brett Poe
Matt Nelson
Brett joined the U.S. Army in August 2008 and did his Basic Training at Fort. Knox, Kentucky and his Advance Infantry Training (AIT) at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. His Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was Wheel Vehicle Recovery, which he did the rest of his time in the Army. This was the actual reason he enlisted. He liked working on trucks and vehicles and wanted to gain more experience doing it. After completing his AIT, Brett was stationed in Germany, and while there was deployed to Afghanistan for one year. Then he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington with a chemical company there. He was there for about a year and a half and was then transferred to Korea. After being there for a year, he moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and after that rotated to Kuwait with the same unit. When he left Kuwait he went back to Fort Lewis. He received his honorable/medical discharge in June 2018.
His job consisted of doing everything from tearing down an engine to swapping tires. Mostly he worked on Strikers and Hemets. A Striker is a tank on wheels and a Hemet is an 8-wheel heavy haul truck. The Hemet was used a lot for recovery for vehicles blown up or broken down, and Brett would go get them out in the field. He also worked on Humvees, and FMTVs, which are Family Medium Tactical Vehicles. They are 5 tons and 2 ½ ton trucks. He worked on generators in all different sizes. If it had wheels and an engine he worked on it.
He made the rank of Staff Sergeant before he got out, and was in charge of the motor pool in Oklahoma, and in Washington the second time he was there. He was the guy responsible for what vehicles needed fixed and or services, what parts were needed, etc. “I was the man who got chewed out all the time if something went wrong!” He ended up getting medically retired because of two herniated disks in his lower back due to being in the military.
After leaving the Army, he moved back to Townsend, where he was born and raised, and so was his wife Meagan. They have three children, one girl and two boys, ages 14, 11, and 6. While it was a pleasant interview, Brett’s face really lit up when he started talking about his kids and his wife. He said that they are his whole life. Meagan works for Public Health, a Church here in Townsend, and she is also an EMT on the ambulance service here. When asked about what kind of hobbies he has, he gave a big grin and said he spends a lot of time with his kids! He stays busy and keeps out of trouble.
When asked if he had times in the service that were really special, he said “Not really, but he did have fun serving. The worst part was being separated from his family when deployed, and/or undergoing training.” Some of the training courses he took were Map Reading, Recovery, Maintenance, Hazmat, Weapons, Close Quarters Combat, and a couple of language courses.
He joined the Broadwater County Search and Rescue unit in September 2023 and has been the Training Officer since February. For the past five years, he has gone around the state delivering bulk propane.
The most impressive thing about Brett is the large Cross tattoo he has on his right arm. He said that he got it in Oklahoma before he went to Kuwait. He also wears a Cross necklace.
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: Brett Poe
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