FORT HUACHUCA, Arizona -- A member of the Minnesota National Guard was recognized for his outstanding performance and leadership during an advanced individual training (AIT) graduation ceremony held July 18 here.
Cpl. Sean Lyndes, a native of Minneapolis, was selected by his instructors and cadre at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE) as the distinguished honor graduate of the 35T Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer/Integrator Course (Class 16-020).
Lyndes, who completed basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in June 2014, has been a member of the Headquarters Battalion, 34th Infantry Division for three years. He joined the Army to develop himself.
"I wanted to learn self-discipline and have an opportunity to take advantage of the educational opportunities available to Minnesota National Guard members like state tuition reimbursement," Lyndes said.
The 35T Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer/Integrator Course is a 39-week course, one of the longest AIT courses USAICoE offers. Soldiers learn to maintain, integrate and repair a myriad of intelligence and signal systems that allow military intelligence analysts at multiple levels to communicate and exchange intelligence information. Graduates receive multiple certifications and 42 credits towards a computer science degree from Cochise Community College.
"The information technology professional certifications and the college credits for computer science I could achieve really motivated me to do well here," Lyndes said. "That and the excellent instructors who really pushed us to master the systems and get really familiar with the systems and learn the various shortcuts to use to trouble shoot the systems."
Lyndes says he looks forward to rejoining his unit in Minnesota and preparing for whatever lies ahead, but says he will miss the comradery of his military occupational specialty training at Fort Huachuca.
"I really enjoyed the small group environment here and working with the members of my class as a team… that really helped me succeed here," he said.
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