By Mari Radtke
After a lengthy search the Cherokee County Veterans’ Affairs has selected Tom Kohn to the position of VA Director. Kohn is a native of Cherokee County, having grown up on a dairy farm east of Cherokee. Kohn entered the Iowa National Guard (ING) 23 years ago.
During Kohn’s 23 years of service he spent 15 of them in active service. He filled the niche as part of the Active Guard and Reserve (AGR). He is a lifetime Veterans’ of Foreign Wars (VFW) memer.
Kohn’s primary role in the ING was as the unit administrator in both the Spencer and Fort Dodge armories. He commuted the entire time. His primary responsibility was to prepare readiness for drill weekends.
During the 23 years Kohn fulfilled 3 overseas deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as 13-FOX which is a forward observer. 13-FOX, attached to the infantry will go out in front of forces and direct where to shoot or drop bombs, if needed. It was a stressful job, but Kohn speaks highly of his fellow forward observers. “I really enjoyed my whole career, even when deployed. I worked with great guys. They made it fun while being deployed. I believed in the people I was serving with. You had to, on your right and on your left.
So now that Kohn has taken a civilian position with the VA he describes the first career in the military as taking care of soldiers. Now that he is Cherokee County’s VA Director he describes this phase of his career as taking care of veterans. He is a full time employee. He holds office hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00am until 4:30pm. On Tuesday and Thursday he visits veterans’ homes, does speaking engagements and attends training and events to further the assistance he can provide to county veterans. The purpose of his position is to help veterans tap into the benefits they have earned. Kohn says, “Often a veteran doesn’t know there are benefits until needed or made aware. You can visit the VA’s facebook page (Cherokee County Veteran’s Affairs) or call for an appointment.
Kohn is still learning a lot about Veterans’ Affairs. He says that at least he speaks the language, but admits there are so many benefits to learn. Presently he is working on National Accreditation of County Veterans Service Officers. This certification will allow him access to the VA system and to strengthen his ability to serve vets. Getting any benefit for any veteran is a lot of work and it’s not a fast process. His greatest task is to keep on top of each case and to move as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Kohn works at the pleasure of a 5-member commission from all parts of Cherokee County. They meet monthly. They know 90-100 veterans live throughout the county, including women. He notes that women veterans had once been mostly overlooked but that is not the case anymore. He emphasizes that with a shout out to the many women with whom he served and adding that March is Womens’ History month.
Right now, Kohn is focusing a lot on his education and on the commission’s goal of outreach. A first step to fulfill that outreach is for him to be on KCHE’s “What’s Happening” with John O’Connor the last Thursday of each month at 8:35am. His personal goal is to get his generation more involved with service. He recognizes a lost sense of community.
Kohn is married. He and Tori have 5 children,