The Fort Dodge man served in Kuwait in two different branches of the United States military in two different conflicts.

As a Navy sailor he served there as part of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-1991.

As an Iowa Army National Guard soldier, he served there for 18 months in 2003 and 2004.

“I am quite unique,” Davis said

Altogether, he served his country for 28 years.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said. “Yes, there are some ups and downs, but what job doesn’t have that?”

He saluted Tina, his wife of 27 years, for her support.

“My wife has been completely accepting of my entire career,’ he said. “Kudos to her because it was rough.”

He enlisted in the Navy in 1989, shortly after graduating from Fort Dodge Senior High School. He said he chose the Navy because “I wanted to see the world, which I got my wish.”

He was inducted into the Navy on Christmas day 1989 and was sent to San Diego, California, for basic training. After basic training he went to what the Navy calls Interior Communication School, which was also in San Diego. There, he learned to work with electronics, especially those used in navigation, warning and alarm systems. That schooling lasted for about six months.

After completing that training he was assigned to the USS Schenectady. That vessel was a Landing Ship, Tank, which is a style of vessel first designed and built for World War II. The front or bow of the ship opened and ramps would extend down so that tanks and other military vehicles could be driven in and out, sometimes right onto a beach.

His ship was assigned to an aircraft carrier group in the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Davis recalled that his ship delivered a load of Marines and their vehicles to shore in Kuwait. Then he went ashore to maintain communications equipment. At the time, he said, American forces were still fighting Iraqi troops and pushing them out of Kuwait.

Davis said he was on the ground in Iraq for about two weeks before returning to his ship.

After Kuwait was completely liberated, the USS Schenectady returned to San Diego.

Davis would make three cruises across the Pacific Ocean aboard that ship.

“I absolutely loved it,” he said of being aboard the ship in the middle of the ocean. “It’s actually gorgeous out there on the water, especially at sunset.”

He was discharged from the Navy in July 1993. He returned to Fort Dodge and earned an associate degree in electronics engineering and computer science at Iowa Central Community College.

While he was working at a job in the private sector, a warrant officer recruited him for the Iowa Army National Guard. He enlisted in 1996 and was assigned to a helicopter unit in Boone. There, he worked in an aircraft hangar where he was in charge of ordering parts needed to maintain helicopters.

Davis started as a traditional Guardsman, serving one weekend a month and two weeks a year. But he soon became a fulltime soldier, working in the hangar from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. five days a week and more if needed.

In 2003, he was transferred to an aviation unit in Davenport, which deployed to Kuwait for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He said the Iowa unit provided aviation support for the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and 4th Infantry Division.

Davis was stationed in Kuwait City, where he and another soldier received aviation parts which were then relayed to the helicopter units based in Balad, Iraq.

“We were the Radar O’Reilly of the brigade,” he said.

After returning from Iraq, he became a battle staff non-commissioned officer at brigade headquarters. Among other things, in that role he was tasked with getting National Guard units trained for deployments outside the state of Iowa.

He held that position until retiring in 2017 with the rank of sergeant first class.