Baer grandsons carry on tradition of military service

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Veterans Day is a time of reflection and honoring those who served. It’s an opportunity to remember family members for their military experience and service to country. The recognition and ceremonies occur in a variety of settings, though for a few families with multiple individuals involved in military service, the day can have added significance.
For Perryville Mayor Ken Baer, five of his grandsons are currently serving in the military in one capacity or another.
Samuel Baer joined the Air National Guard in 2017. When serving, Baer is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, just south of Knob Noster and west of Sedalia.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after high school, so I thought the military would be a good option,” said Samuel, a 2017 St. Vincent High School graduate in 2017, joined the Air National Guard same year.
Baer recalled the thought process of joining the Guard.
“I wasn’t very familiar with the reserves, so I decided to do the Guard,” he said. “I wanted to stay close to home, didn’t want to do active duty.”
The eight-week training for this endeavor took place at Lockland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
Baer officially joined in April, began studying and completed this basic training in September.
He is a jet crew chief and the schedules for this varies depending on the day or shift.
With the Air National Guard, Baer signed a six-year contract, of which he has completed about four-and-a-half years. He Has about 18 months until he has to decide on whether or not he plans to continue serving in the Air National Guard
Samuel’s older brother, Isaac Baer, is a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Isaac has been involved in the military since 2016, when he enrolled in a reserve officer training command program offered at Missouri S&T in Rolla. Isaac was commissioned in 2021.
Isaac didn’t have any specific memories of Veterans Day events or ceremonies while attending grade or high school.
“With ROTC we always did different events and whatnot for Veterans Day,” Isaac said. “Being in the military now, it’s an honor to get to participate in Veterans Day ceremonies. Grandpa (Baer) recruited me and my brother to help.”
Samuel and Isaac helped with a flag ceremony to commemorate Veterans Day at their alma mater Nov. 10. Isaac is now stationed with an engineering unit in Memphis, Tenn. He was interested in learning an officer position, which would put him in a leadership role.
“That’s kind of neat to see the kids respecting and supporting our troops in that manner,” Isaac said.
Samuel also spoke about returning to his former school since joining the military.
“I think it just means a lot, Veterans Day, showing appreciation for veterans and all those who have served,” he said.

Isaac has an eight-year contract, though he may not serve the full length of that time.
“ROTC trained us to be officers,” Isaac said. “Eventually, those trained will be leaders of a 30 to 40 member platoon.
Isaac has not begun schooling for an engineering officer, which will gear him more toward his leadership role with an engineering platoon.
In this process, he will eventually be working with non-commissioned officers, who assist with providing direction. Isaac spoke favorably of the ROTC program.
It teaches leadership skills and introduces leadership styles and techniques, he said.
In the U.S. Army Reserve, the training is geared more toward specific job tasks. ROTC allows individuals to join military branch of their choosing.
There is the opportunity to join any branch in this capacity, depending on which university one attends, Isaac said.
As a reservist, he travels there once a month, and two weekends in the summer and works a civilian job the remainder of the year.
To be commissioned, the ROTC students need a bachelor’s degree. Isaac completed his degree in civil engineering prior to joining the Army Reserves.
A civil engineer in the military isn’t the same compared to a municipal or private sector position, Isaac pointed out.
“It’s quite a bit different,” he noted. “There is design and inspection work on city projects (at the municipal level).
“(In the military), we’re running government missions, not as much construction.
While Isaac selected where he wanted to serve, though this also works the other way where officer candidates are placed, he said.
The assignments occur on the weekends, typically Saturday and Sunday, though they can begin on Fridays.
“It just depends on what we’re doing that particular weekend,” he said.
Samuel and Isaac have a younger brother, Jack, who completed basic training in July. He is now in Cavalry Scout training in Georgia.
Both of Sam, Isaac and Jack’s grandfathers, Ken Baer (U.S. Navy) and Paul Hoeckele (U.S. Army) served in the military.
“It’s gratifying for me to get the opportunity to serve and follow what my grandpas did,” Isaac said. “Grandpa (Ken) Baer talked to all of his grandsons, I knew I wanted to do something in the service, and go to school, so ROTC seemed like a good option.”