Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Retired Master Sgt. Jeremy Noel shows the uniform he had pressed so he could wear it when he got promoted to E-5 / Sergeant when his outfit deployed home from Iraq in 2006. He actually had two uniforms, so he wore one and saved the second one for memories sake. The uniform has never been washed and is still in the condition it was when he had it pressed.

CANFIELD — Army veteran Master Sgt. Jeremy Noel can look back with pride over 21 years of service.

He saw action during the Iraq war and later became one of the top two Army National Guard recruiters in the nation.

Noel grew up in Pennsylvania, graduating from Pottsville High School in 1997. He went to work as a forklift operator and truck driver for Schoeneman Beauty Supply and later as a forklift operator for Associated Wholesalers. That was two years at each company, but it wasn’t where he wanted to be.

“I thought I had a plan,” he said.

His plan changed and he turned to a military career. In November 2002, Noel enlisted in the Army in Harrisburg, Pa. He was immediately sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training, where he graduated in July 2003.

After basic training, he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia and was placed into the 3rd Infantry.

“The war in Iraq was just starting,” Noel said. “We trained the rest of 2003, then half of 2004. Then it was our turn to head to Iraq.”

He said two weeks before his unit headed overseas, his son Ashton was born. He got to spend a short two weeks with him before moving out.

In mid-2004, Noel’s unit headed to Baqubah, Iraq. He said the mission for his unit was to search door-to-door as they were looking for the terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was eventually taken out by special forces in June 2006.

“We would get intel of where insurgents were hiding and we had to kick in doors to search them out,” Noel said. “It was a dangerous area with some people shaking our hands during the day, then trying to kill us at night.”

Noel said the weather there was really hot. Temperatures during the day would reach 122 to 155 degrees.

“We had to do security details on rooftops,” he said. “The heat of the roof and sun was so hot, if you stood in one place too long, your boots would begin to melt.”

He said guard duty was done in full uniform with a bulletproof vest. He said the average water consumption was around 1 1/2 gallons per day. He said everyone sweated so bad, their shirts would stand up by themselves when taken off.

Another thing Noel noted was his unit was not stationed at a formal base. They had a building surrounded by a cement wall. There were 40 men in Noel’s platoon, but they didn’t have enough beds or room in the small building located on a city street. Noel said each bed would be shared by two soldiers with one sleeping while the other was on watch or patrol. Then the two would switch.

“We had two phones and three computers,” he said. “We did have an old air conditioner, but the power was constantly going out.”

For showers, he said the local fire department would fill a water tank and each member of the platoon would limit their use of water so everyone could use the water to wash.

“To get something to eat, or to take our laundry to be washed required us to go into harm’s way,” Noel said. “Our D-Fac (dinning facility) was in a big garage. The nearest base was FOB (forward operating base) War Horse. We would travel there and receive heating tubs like catering. That was our only hot meal.”

He said during his time in Iraq, a suicide bomber came to their dining area and blew it up. After that, the troops had to eat wherever they could find shade.

During his time in Iraq, Noel said his brigade lost 33 men. He was involved when one of the explosive devices hit his vehicle. Noel said he is disabled now because of the damage done to his back.

“Our company commander never put in for purple hearts for any of us,” Noel said. “I was deployed with SFC Alwyn Cashe, who was in the 3rd Infantry Division 3rd Brigade out of Fort Benning. He received the Silver Star for what he did for his soldiers while we were in Iraq in 2005. They made his family wait a very long time, but God willing he got what he truly deserved by having his Silver Star upgraded to a Medal of Honor. I was so happy for him and his family. Extremely sad that he had passed from his wounds, but at least his family got this honor in his name. (He was) a great man.”

Noel’s outfit returned home in February 2006. He remembered seeing his son again and wondering if he remembered.

“My son was now walking,” he said. “He came right up to me. I was afraid he wouldn’t remember me, but he did. It was a really good feeling.”

In March, Noel left his military career and with his family, settled in Poland. He joined the police academy in Canton and was three weeks from graduating when he got a call from an old friend.

“He talked to me about going back in the military as a recruiter,” Noel said. “So I joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.”

Noel served as a recruiter in Pittsburgh from 2007 until 2013, when he was reassigned to Beaver Falls for two years. While in Beaver Falls, Noel received the rank of Sgt. 1st Class.

From Beaver Falls, Noel went to Slippery Rock University as a recruiter and to work with the ROTC program. While at Slippery Rock, Noel was able to recruit 38 individuals. The top number across the nation was 42 by a Valley Forge, Pa., recruiter. Both men were congratulated by high ranking officials. Noel was privileged to have Major General Timothy Hilty honor his efforts.

In June 2017, Noel was officially promoted to master sergeant. In his new rank, he became a team leader and served for several weeks in Philadelphia before settling on a leadership position in Greensburg.

“The Greensburg trip was 101 miles,” he said. “I drove that from June 2017 through December of 2019.”

Noel retired from military service after 21 years (16 years regular Army and five years in the National Guard). He now serves as a presenter for the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. Much of what he does is talking to high school students about serving in the aviation field. It’s not hard for Noel because it hits close to home.

“It is easy to talk about because my son Ashton is an aviation technician at the Akron-Canton Airport,” he said. “This is a great retirement job, and I couldn’t ask for better. I am doing something I enjoy doing.”