Just as Bryan Alvey and Barry Mattingly were settling back into their civilian and Kentucky Farm Bureau routines after military tours in Iraq, another – fairly new - employee began preparing to serve in the Middle East.
   Jeff Bishop, an Information Technology programmer analyst who joined Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Cos. last June, left in February to train in Mississippi before deployment to Iraq.
   Bishop said he had little more than a month notice of the assignment. “I was lucky. Other people had only a week or so.”
   A 14-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Bishop joined the U.S. Army Reserves three years ago. He is a staff sergeant with the 100th Division at Bowman Field in ’New’ employee leaving for duty in Middle East Louisville and was assigned to the 926th Engineering Brigade for a tour in Iraq.
   It is not unusual for the Army to select reservists to serve with other units, he said.  “The group needed someone with my specialty.”
   At 48, Bishop said he didn’t expect to be called up for active duty, however, “we all know that when we put on the uniform that it could happen.”
   Bishop was often gone from his family for long periods of time when he was a Marine for duty in the Far East and Caribbean – a factor that led to his decision to leave the service. “I loved being a Marine. But I was away too much, I felt that I had to choose between the military and being home with my kids. And I love being a Dad.”
   One of the hardest things he had to do after receiving the notice to report to Mississippi was telling his wife, Mary, and their children, 22-year-old Diana and 16-year-old Jonah, that he had to leave them for a year. Diana is the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, Clara, the Bishops’ first grandchild, and Jonah is a high school soccer player.  “I miss them,” Bishop said.
   The 926th Engineering Brigade is made up of architects, engineers, draftsmen and other professionals who would work at an engineering or construction-related consulting firm, Bishop said.
   “We are like a management team for an engineering group,” he said. “We would support anything a construction company would do as a contractor for a residential development or small buildings.”
   His role is to supply computer networking for the people involved in the construction projections, such as the building or remodeling of barracks and cafeterias and schools and other public structures in Iraq.
   At Kentucky Farm Bureau, Bishop works on issues related to the company’s computer mainframe and special projects. Being a network specialist for information systems is very different, he said, and the Army is providing “excellent” training as he makes the transition.
   He thinks the experience will prove to be useful when he returns to civilian job. “I am definitely enhancing my professional skills.”
   Bishop is still savoring the send-off he received at Kentucky Farm Bureau. Although he has only been with the insurance company a short time, he said the support of coworkers, in some ways, caught him offguard.  “I would like to thank the ladies and gentlemen in the area where I work for the awesome farewell they gave me.”
   As word spread that he would be leaving for Iraq, Barry Mattingly, a claim adjuster at the Campbellsville District Office, called Bishop and talked about the transition he was making from being a civilian to military service in Iraq.
   Alvey, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation’s director of local affairs and policy development contacted Bishop as he trained seven days a week – often for 12-hours daily - in Mississippi.
   “They don’t really know me yet, and everyone has been so nice,” Bishop said. wish I had found (Kentucky Farm Bureau) 10 or 15 years ago. It’s the best.”

By Rachael Kamuf
KENTUCKY FARM BUREAU