I was born in Mt. Pleasant, Utah in the late 1970s.  I spent my childhood in the small town of Ephraim, Utah.  I graduated from High School in Payson, Utah in May 1997. I attended one quarter at Utah State University and then left to spend two years as a volunteer missionary for my church.  I spent those two years in Ukraine.  I spent the majority of my time in the city of Donetsk, but also lived in Gorlovka and Zaporozhye.  During my time in Ukraine I was able to learn the Russian language and to make many friends.

 

In August 2000 I returned to Utah State University and continued my studies.  In September 2000 I joined the Utah Army National Guard as a Counterintelligence Agent and Russian Linguist.  I completed Basic Training in Fort Jackson, SC and my Advanced Individual Training at Fort Huachuca, AZ and returned to school.

 

I married Yulia V. Kucherenko of Krasnoyarsk, Russia on 12 March 2002 in Manti, Utah.  I continued my studies until February 2003 when I was mobilized and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  I was attached to the 3rd Infantry Division for the battle of Baghdad, and after that was attached to the 101st ABN Division and led a Tactical Human Intelligence Team (THT) in Mosul for about 5 months. The remainder of my tour in Iraq was spent working at the Brigade level working with intelligence reports from the field.

 

After returning to the States in march 2004, Yulia and I took an extended trip to Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia for three months.  Upon returning from that trip in July, I started back to school.  In May 2005 I began working full-time for the REACH Language Support Program as a Russian Linguist.  I was soon asked to become the head of the Quality Assurance Team and I spent most of my time editing translations and preparing them for upload to the HARMONY intelligence database.  I graduated Cum Laude from Utah State University in December 2005.

 

I began a Master's program in Strategic Intelligence at American Military University (AMU) in August 2005. I completed that program, passing my final comprehensive exam with distinction in May 2007, and was awarded my degree in October 2007.  I deployed a second time to Iraq from June 2007 until May 2008.  I spent my time in Iraq at Camp Bucca working as a counterintelligence agent.  While I was in Iraq, I applied for, and was accepted to, the PhD program at the University of Iowa.  After arriving home, we sold our home, packed up, and moved to Iowa in order to further my education.

 

Yulia and I are the proud parents of four beautiful daughters:

Veronika - 2005

Polina - 2006

Alexandra - 2008

Sophia - 2008

 

My main hobby is reading.  However, I also love to play basketball.  I also am part of a mentoring program with the American Public University System in which I mentor students who are pursuing degrees in intelligence while working and fulfilling other responsibilities.  School, work, and family keep me occupied for most of my time!

 

 

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Some Photos from my Tours in Iraq