Welcome Back Kenny

The employee family at Binsky & Snyder Service welcomes back Kenny Knowles from his most recent tour of duty with the Air National Guard. When stateside, he is an HVAC technician for Binsky Service, but he shipped out the day after Christmas 2009, serving our country in Iraq during a six-month tour. Kenny has been a member of the 108th Air Refueling Wing for 14 years and is currently an E-6 Tech. Sergeant.

Tour Missions
Based out of Sather Air Base, the U.S. Air Force base on the west side of Baghdad International Airport, Kenny served as an HVAC Tech in his Civil Engineering squadron. His primary mission was to provide base wide comfort to U.S. personnel, and to keep critical communications and radar equipment cool in the intense desert heat – with an average high temperature of nearly 120°. 

Kenny worked on various projects on base that utilized his knowledge of HVAC, refrigeration and electrical systems. One unique project included providing air conditioning in the control tower to the newly transitioned Iraqi air traffic controllers.

Kenny’s secondary mission was to help the Iraqi forces with their HVAC needs and try to teach them how to properly install and maintain the equipment. He regularly saw U.S. troops training Iraqi forces on how to operate cranes and heavy equipment, install plumbing systems, wire HVAC equipment and construct buildings.

“There was always Small Arms Fire”
Due to his close proximity to the front line and the location of his barracks on a large U.S. base, Kenny found himself close to several hostile situations. “You could hear explosions in the distance and there was always small arms fire,” said Kenny as he recalled a number of the dangers, “some rockets came pretty close.”

Kenny enjoyed his limited time off-base when he was able to cultivate friendly relations with Iraqi forces and teach them how to become more autonomous.

Tour Highlights
“Once a month we would take up donations and go to the Iraqi Special Forces compound to give of our time and resources as part of the Good Neighbor Program,” shared Kenny. He also interacted with the children of the Iraqi forces as they organized a local Boy Scouts troop.

Kenny enjoyed the unique and beautiful scenery as experienced from a Black Hawk helicopter and by touring one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

Missed Family, Birthdays …
Although he is proud to serve his country, Kenny said, “It is hard being away from home. I missed birthdays, holidays, anniversaries … and I missed my wife and three year old son, Shane, the most.”

The Binsky Service team is glad to have him back and proud of what he is doing to project our freedom. If Kenny is your HVAC technician, be sure to let him know his service is much appreciated.