N.D. Soldier Bound for Kosovo Promoted to Colonel (UNCLASSIFIED)

 N.D. Soldier Bound for Kosovo Promoted to Colonel
 
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - David L. Thiele was promoted to colonel today while on
 duty at Camp Atterbury, Ind., where he is training with other North Dakota
 Soldiers preparing to deploy to Kosovo. The North Dakota Soldiers arrived
 last week at this Indiana National Guard training facility and will deploy to
 Kosovo later this year. Official notification of Thiele's promotion didn't
 arrive until after his departure from North Dakota last week.
 
Brig. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, commanding general for Task Force Falcon, Kosovo
 Force 12, presided over the promotion ceremony in Indiana, while Maj. Gen.
 David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general,
 administered the military oath of office to Thiele via video teleconference
 from Bismarck.
 
Traditionally, the oath of office is administered to all commissioned
 officers in the North Dakota National Guard each time they are promoted. This
 oath reaffirms the officer's commitment to the Constitution of the United
 States and the State of North Dakota.
 
"Dave Thiele has worked hard to earn this promotion, serving as both our
 senior legal officer and later as our military personnel officer,"
 Sprynczynatyk said. "His outstanding leadership and technical legal expertise
 will serve his commander and fellow Soldiers well during his upcoming
 deployment to Kosovo."
 
Thiele's wife, Kelly; his father, Jim Thiele, and one of his two daughters,
 Kyle, also attended the video teleconference in Bismarck to witness the
 promotion. His other daughter, Paige, was not able to attend.
 
Thiele began his military career as an active-duty Army officer in the Judge
 Advocate General Corps from 1986-1994 before joining the North Dakota
 National Guard as a traditional Guardsman. He began his full time National
 Guard career in 2004 serving as the Staff Judge Advocate for the North Dakota
 National Guard headquarters in Bismarck. From 2008 to 2009, he was assigned
 as the J-1 military personnel officer responsible for all administrative
 duties in support of the 4,400 Soldiers and Airmen in the North Dakota
 National Guard. 
 
"It's an honor to be recognized by the leadership who entrusted me with this
 promotion; I look forward to carrying on the excellent tradition of North
 Dakota Guardsmen and to contributing to the success of our organization,"
 Thiele said to the group of Soldiers attending the ceremony.
 
Thiele now serves as the senior legal advisor to the commanding general for
 Kosovo Force 12, a mission that is expected to continue through August 2010.
 
Thiele earned both his undergraduate and juris doctorate degrees from the
 University of North Dakota and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. 
---
 Since the terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has
 mobilized more than 2,800 Soldiers and more than 1,600 Airmen in support of
 the Global War on Terrorism. In recent months, nearly 2,000 North Dakota
 National Guardsmen were mobilized for flood fighting missions all across
 North Dakota. With a total force of about 4,400 Soldiers and Airmen, we have
 sufficient forces available to provide emergency response and homeland
 defense.
 -30-
 
Photo Cutlines (Released)
 
Thiele Promotion 1.jpg
 David Thiele is congratulated by Brig.Gen. Alan Dohrmann, commanding general
 for Task Force Falcon, Kosovo Force 12, after his promotion to colonel at
 Camp Atterbury, Ind. on August 25, 2009. Photo by Spc. Jordan Huwe, 116th
 Public Affairs Detachment, N.D. Army National Guard
 
Thiele Promotion 2.jpg
 David Thiele addresses the Soldiers attending his promotion to colonel
 ceremony at Camp Atterbury, Ind. on August 25, 2009. Photo by Spc. Jordan
 Huwe, 116th Public Affairs Detachment, N.D. Army National Guard