Each year the President signs a proclamation declaring November Military Family Month. With two brothers in the Army and their father a retired Colonel, it is fair to say the Plotners represent such a military family from our area.
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A Distinguished Military Graduate of the Army R.O.T.C. program at the University of Arizona, Colonel Jeff Plotner, 53, received a Regular Army commission in May 1983. He retired from the Army in May, 2010, after a 27-year career in military intelligence. His career included assignments as platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.; detachment commander in the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany; team chief with the Army Foreign Intelligence Activity in Tampa, Fla.; operations officer in a special mission unit in Northern Virginia; detachment commander for the Defense Intelligence Agency serving under the U.S. Special Operations Command in Bosnia-Herzegovina; assistant Army attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria; team chief for the Defense Intelligence Agency serving under the U.S. Special Operations Command in Afghanistan; staff officer with the U.S. Army Operations Group at Fort Meade, Md.; program manager on the Army Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, DC; and finally as a division chief in the Intelligence Directorate of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.
Colonel Plotner’s wife, Elizabeth, accompanied him on all of his non-combat tours.
Chelsea, Jeff, Ian, Sean, and Elizabeth Plotner. Chelsea is employed as a clinical coordinator near Tallahassee providing mental health counseling and art therapy services to boys in a non-profit program contracted by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice system.
Jeff and Elizabeth’s two sons, Sean and Ian, grandchildren of Ann and Gene Schweizer of Gallatin, are presently serving in the Army.
First Lieutenant Sean Plotner, 26, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in May 2011, with a degree in international history and a commission in the Army Aviation branch. After completing flight school as an air cavalry officer at Fort Rucker, Ala., he reported to Fort Campbell, Ken., in October, 2013, and now flies the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aero scout/reconnaissance helicopter with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Second Lieutenant Ian Plotner, 22, graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University in May of this year with a Bachelor of Arts degree with double majors – one in international affairs and the other in Chinese language and culture – and a minor in military science via the Army R.O.T.C. program. Ian also received a commission in the Army Transportation Corps.
After graduating as the distinguished honor graduate from his basic officer leader’s course in October, he, too, reported to the 101st Airborne Division where he is assigned to the division’s sustainment brigade.
Within three weeks of his arrival, he and 75% of his company received orders to deploy to Liberia on Operation United Assistance – the U.S. effort to combat the Ebola breakout in Africa. He was supposed to deploy last Friday, but his departure has been delayed until more aircraft are available. Until then, he remains on alert – which means he can be called at any time, night or day, and he has to be prepared to go.
Once deployed, Ian will help transport critical medical supplies, food, and equipment from the port and nearby airfields to the medical clinics that the U.S. military is constructing. This type of activity should not, in general, bring him into direct contact with people carrying the virus.
“I’ve been a military spouse for a long time and Jeff was deployed often,” said Elizabeth. “But the boys are so young and so new to the Army. I won’t say I’m worried, only concerned. I know they are trained well and will be taken well care of. I have faith in the system, and in them, and in prayer.”
Mr. Plotner, public affairs officer for VFW Post 2172 of Gallatin, spoke about military veterans to students at Gallatin High School during their Veterans Day Assembly on Tuesday.
“As of 2012,” said Mr. Plotner, “our Census bureau counted 21.5 million living veterans in the US. These citizen-soldiers were not seeking personal gain or even fame. Their country called and they answered. Theirs was a simple, patriotic response – they recognized their civic duty and acted accordingly. Through untold courage and sacrifice, America’s veterans have secured the liberty which our founding fathers sought to establish here in the new world. Whenever and wherever the nation has called – in times of darkness and danger, as well as in times of peace and prosperity – America’s veterans have been there. They have proudly carried the torch of liberty for all to see. As a nation, we must never forget the debt we owe them for securing the many freedoms we often take for granted.. Over twenty one million military veterans walk among us, and on this day, our nation salutes them all.