Marshalltown native retires after 40 years of military service
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ANKENY -- Todd Eipperle, who grew up in Marshalltown, and resides in Ankeny, has just closed the book on a 40-year career in the Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. In September, he returned home from a nine-month deployment to Kuwait and Jordan. He retires on Oct. 31 with the rank of First Sergeant/E-8 in the National Guard and a Sergeant Major/SGM in the Army Reserve.
From 2000 to 2002, he served in the Army Reserve, then went back to the National Guard, and rounded out his career in the Army Reserve the past three years.
"I joined the National Guard in November 1983, the year after I graduated from MHS," he said. "I had a classmate at MCC convince me to join. I signed up at the armory at the Vet's Home."
He said being in the National Guard in the 1980s was a relatively calm era following the Vietnam War. It was recommended to him, however, to avoid wearing his uniform in public due to the lingering unpopularity of that war.
"Back then, we spent one weekend a month training and some weeks in the summer," Eipperle said. "After 9/11, a lot of things changed. Really, after the Gulf War. A lot of guard and reserve units got called out during the Gulf War, and (military officials) realized we needed to get more serious about the training."
His first overseas deployment was to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003 to 2004. Eipperle had two weeks to prepare. Some of his comrades had trouble adjusting to life overseas.
"It was a hard pill to swallow for some people," he added.
He worked as a signal team leader, with six soldiers under him. They provided telephone and communication services for other units.
"Back then, we set up telephones in headquarters and tents and had to run wire. Military field phones," he explained.
He said his employer at the time, PCA in Marshalltown, treated him and his family well. For the past 20 years, he's worked for the Boy Scouts of America in Des Moines, noting that organization has also been accommodating of his military obligations. He then went on to earn a Liberal Arts degree from Upper Iowa University.
In 2010 and 2011, he was sent to Afghanistan to train Afghan police. He was away from his job with the Boy Scouts, and his family, for about 18 months. Skype communication with his wife Julie and children Nicholas and Monica, helped bridge the distance. While he was away, his granddaughter Lola Brackney was born -- on Veterans Day 2010.
Nowadays, he noted, everyone has cell phones and he could FaceTime home as often as he wanted.
In December 2022, Eipperle embarked on his third and final deployment.
"There's not a whole lot I can share, but we do have a lot of troops in Kuwait," he said. "We have to provide sustainment for them. What I did was provide communications to the posts where we have troops. Jordan is way different than Kuwait. We're trying to get ourselves more established there. It's closer to Israel and farther away from Iran."
Jordan's western border is the Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
"I got out of there just at the right time. It's really boiled over just recently," he said of the Israel-Hamas war, which began on Oct. 7.
Reflecting on four decades of service, he said more and more women have joined the military.
"Back in the 80s, my signal unit was less than 10 percent female," he said. "Now it's much higher, which is a good thing."
Eipperle said he's happy that Veterans Day has become more celebrated and that there is less stigma associated with the uniform. He also feels that 9/11 led to people joining up "for the right reasons." Looking back, he said the most rewarding part of his career in the military was a four-year period when he was a trainer at Officer Candidate School at Camp Dodge.
He returns to his job as director of annual giving at Mid-Iowa Council, Boy Scouts of America, on Nov. 1.