Milwaukee native mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom at USTRANSCOM

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- The U.S. Coast Guard Reserve mobilized reservist Cmdr. Kendel D. Feilen of Milwaukee, Wis. to serve at U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) here.

Feilen left his duties as a Milwaukee Police sergeant to assume a military police role at USTRANSCOM's Force Protection Directorate, the military security organization providing security and protection for military personnel and facilities.

Feilen drills with USTRANSCOM's Joint Transportation Reserve Unit at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Since senior police officers cannot easily be replaced, Feilen's colleagues in the Milwaukee Police Department are working overtime to cover his duties while is he mobilized. Feilen said this is an extraordinary effort to support a brother officer.

"I'm glad to do my part in the war against terrorism, and consider it a patriotic duty," he said.

USTRANSCOM provides air, land, and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and times of war. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard (active and reserve) and Department of Defense civilian personnel staff the command.

JTRU was the first Department of Defense-authorized "joint" reserve unit. It provides USTRANSCOM with 30% of its watch standing workforce.