Eric Tincher is a counselor at Flint Hills Technical College. And a combat-decorated veteran.
Tincher won the Bronze Star for his service as a convoy combat commander while serving with the Air National Guard in Iraq.
He and several other commanders were recognized for doing an important job under impossible conditions.
“Everyone at some point had something go bad,” Tincher said. “It was just part of driving over 18,000 miles and having as many missions as we did.”
Like many Guardsmen, Tincher first signed up as a way to pay for college. He had just started to worry about that a day or two before the recruiter showed up at Marais des Cygnes Valley High School.
“I must have been the easiest recruit in the history of the military,” Tincher laughed. “I walked up and said ‘Where do I sign?’”
Tincher was called to service in January 2005. After a brief training period in Texas, he would ship out for Iraq, not returning to Emporia until October.
That meant a lot of arrangements had to be made on the homefront — most college counselors are constantly busy, and Tincher is no exception. But the school was willing to bend over backward to help, Tincher said.
“The technical college has always been great,” he said. “There was never a question that, when I came back, my position would be waiting for me. ... Everyone stepped up and did fantastic.
“But in addition, I contacted some colleagues at ESU and arranged for two master’s degree students to do their internship work right here, working with the students. They picked up a boatload of what I do on a day-to-day basis.”
In Iraq, Tincher was in charge of convoy security, making sure that the civilian and military vehicles he traveled with got to their destinations safely. Working with third-party nationals could be especially interesting, he said.
“You had to do a lot of charades,” he said. “You’d put out your hand and say, ‘It’s time to go (as he beckoned with his hand). Everybody drive! (as he mimed a steering wheel).’”
Tincher would travel more than 17,000 miles in six months. He doesn’t talk much about specific incidents, except to say that he was just doing his job.
“Did my convoy get hit by IEDs? Sure we did,” he said. “Are the bad guys alive and well? Sure. Are they a match for the U.S. military head to head? Definitely not.”
And technology provides a few advantages.
When attacked, Tincher was able to e-mail headquarters and let them know the map location of the strike, which could then be visited by other U.S. troops.
A lot of things struck him about Iraq, from the exotic camels and palms, to the poverty of many citizens. And with so many troops under so much stress, Tincher said, his training as a counselor came in handy.
Now, after taking three weeks to readjust, he’s back in the civilian world again.
“I missed the tech college,” Tincher said. “It was hard to be away.”
“But,” he added with a look of satisfaction on his face, “I’m here now.”