Patrick Zenk:  

Life Much has happened since my days at both Lake Benton and Burnsville High. After graduation, I joined the Army where I served as a member of the Army Ranger Regiment. I operated as an enlisted Airborne Infantryman, was fortunate to receive a lot of specialized training, and have many unique experiences around the world. Just a year and a half after graduation from high school, I was sent to Panama as a member of the initial invasion force for Operation "Just Cause". It was a rough thing to go through at nineteen years old, and those of you who knew me "back when" would be happy to know that I was finally forced to grow up. Big surprise huh? In 1992, after four years and a hundred different adventures, I left the military to attend college. Unlike high school, I actually worked hard and graduated from the U of M in 1997 with a degree in History. Today, I'm back in the military where I serve on active duty as a Major in the Medical Service Corp branch of the Army. My basic job is that of a MEDEVAC helicopter pilot and a company commander flying UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters. After spending a short year in flight school, I worked in a one-year overseas tour where I lived and flew along the DMZ separating North and South Korea. I moved to Kansas in January 2000, where I became a MEDEVAC Flight Platoon Leader charged with running a platoon of fifteen UH-60 helicopters and 62 people with a worldwide mission. From August to December 2001, I was the commander of the only US military helicopters in Saudi Arabia. There I experienced the full range of emotions, pressures, and experiences following the attacks on ...Expand for more