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Lt. Col. Olson

Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Olson

Lt. Col. Kevin Olson is the Public Affairs Officer for the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division and serves as the senior communications advisor to the Commander of Multi-National Division South (MND-S).
Headquartered in Basra, MND-S consists of more than 15,000 U.S. Soldiers operating in 9 of eighteen southern Iraqi provinces.
In St. Paul, Lt. Col. Olson is the Director of Public Affairs for the Minnesota Army and Air National Guard and is proud to have led communications teams that have been recognized with numerous military and industry awards including a "Northern Lights" Award, a Bronze Quill, and an Emmy.

Master Sgt. Kemp

kemp

Master Sgt. Rich Kemp
Master Sgt. Rich Kemp is the NCOIC of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division Public Affairs Section.

Kemp spent the first six years of his military career in the infantry. After graduating from St. Cloud State University with a degree in Mass Communications, he transferred to the 135th Public Affairs Detachment as a broadcast journalist. He joined the AGR force for the Minnesota National Guard and served as the Marketing NCO for many years. Master Sgt. Kemp was honored as the National Marketing NCO of the Year for the National Guard in 2005.

In 2007, Kemp moved on to help with the implementation of the “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” reintegration program as the Public Affairs NCO. Master Sgt. Kemp became the NCOIC of the Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs Team in 2008 before deploying with the Red Bulls to Basra.

Kemp says in addition to his family, the Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp has been a big part of his life. This will be the first year that he has missed as a counselor at the camp for children of National Guard members.

Articles:

LNOs support division in Iraq and Kuwait

Sister, brother reunite in Iraq

Soldiers chat with their children at Youth Camp

Red Bull Prayer Breakfast

Staff Sgt. Houtkooper

Staff Sgt. Benjamin Houtkooper

Staff Sgt. Ben Houtkooper joined the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Red Bull Infantry Division in 1998 as a Broadcast Journalist. Since then he has deployed on missions to Iraq, Kosovo, Norway and several other countries.

In 2008 he volunteered to leave his full-time position in the Minnesota National Guard, to deploy with the Red Bulls to Iraq where he currently serves as the Non-Commissioned Officer In-Charge of the Public Affairs Broadcast Team.

Sgt. Jungels

Sgt. Eric Jungels

Sgt. Jungels is a Public Affairs Non-Commissioned Officer for the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division. A native of Wayzata, Minn., he deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2006 as a Media Engagement Team Specialist for U.S. Central Command. Jungels is a graduate of St. Cloud State University, with a Bachelor's degree in Management, and owner of JP Merkel Grand LLC, a media company located in central Minnesota. He lives with his wife, Michelle, in Minnesota.

Articles:

Red Bulls re-up!

Spc. Lawrence

LawrenceResized Spc. J.P. Lawrence

Spc. J.P. Lawrence entered the U.S. Army in 2008, where he went to Basic Training in Fort Benning and Advanced Individual Training in Fort Meade, Md. A few months after graduating, he deployed to Iraq with the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division.

Lawrence, an award-winning writer, is a graduate of Redwood Valley High School and the NBC Digital Journalism School at the New York Film Academy. He writes for the Red Bull Report in Iraq.

Connect with J.P. Lawrence on Facebook and his blogspot blog: