Green Bay Reserve Unit May Ship to Bosnia

Army Reserve Maj. Daniel Ammerman may soon leave his De Pere home for the snow and violence of Bosnia, and although he could miss Christmas with his family, he said he is ready to serve.

Ammerman and the rest of the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion have been notified by the military to start training for possible deployment to Bosnia, said Lt. Col. Brian Kilgariff, the unit’s commanding officer.

“Certainly I would like to be home for Christmas, but I think the greater good would be getting the mission done, of course,” Ammerman said. “Celebrating Christmas with my family is very important, but there are people in Bosnia who are dying every day.”

Ammerman, accounting manager for Schneider National Inc. in Green Bay, is married and has a 21-month-old son, Keith.

Ammerman said his wife, Kathy, is well aware of the danger he could face. “She’s not happy about it, but she also understands that I have a job to do, so she’s willing to accept that.”

Kilgariff said his unit had started cold-weather training but had not been notified whether it would ship out.

Based in Green Bay, the 112-member unit member unit operates much like emergency government helping bridge the gap between military and civilian authorities. The 432nd includes engineers, lawyers and physicians as well as officers fluent in foreign languages.

“We have unique civilian skills that you don’t normally find in the military,” Kilgariff said.