US Army Experiences and Life as a Soldier
Captain (CPT) Jason Klemp was born and raised in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and is the son of Rick and Karen Klemp. He was a three-sport athlete throughout high school, an Eagle Scout with Boy Scout Troop 333, and graduated from Sun Prairie High School in 2006. CPT Klemp then attended the University of Minnesota on an Army ROTC Scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a minor in Military Science. While attending the U of M he was a four-year letter winner with the Co-ed Cheer Team and was captain of the team for two of the four years. Jason received his commission through the University of Minnesota ROTC program where he was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant, and then attended the Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Captain Klemp’s first assignment was to 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) and then to 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. While in 2nd ABCT he served as a Mechanized Infantry Platoon Leader and as a Battalion S6 IT Officer where he served on one deployment to the Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and one deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom: Spartan Shield. He then successfully interviewed for and became the Battalion S6 to serve with 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, 4th Infantry Division helping establish the newly formed Stryker Brigade. Captain Klemp then attended the Signal Captains Career Course where he received the Kilbourne leadership award upon graduation.
He just completed almost two years of company command. He was a commander in 52d Strategic Signal Battalion located in Stuttgart, Germany. While in 52d he commanded both Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD) and US Army Network Enterprise Center – Stuttgart (USANEC-S). As the HHD Commander he coordinated and was ultimately responsible for the Battalion Staff and the executive communications teams for the both the USAFRICOM Commanding General (4 Star General) and the USEUCOM Deputy Commanding General (3 Star General). After a successful command of HHD, he transitioned to Command USANEC-Stuttgart. As the USANEC-Stuttgart Commander, he was ultimately responsible for the largest Communications Security Account in Europe servicing both USAFRICOM and USEUCOM headquarters along with other tenant organizations. He also served as the Commanding Officer for all communications supporting the Joint Nuclear Operations Center (JNOC) for USEUCOM. During his tenure in command, he created and wrote new standards for how the Department of the Army trains and evaluates communications operations in support of the Department of Defense’s nuclear operations mission. He also oversaw a key life cycle replacement of strategic Satellite Communications nodes that support USEUCOM as well as served as a subject matter expert in the growth, development, and implementation of the same equipment for USAFRICOM.
Captain Klemp’s awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC)), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon (Numeral 3), Army Service Ribbon, NATO (ISAF) Medal, Valorous Unit Award, Basic Parachutist Badge, and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Silver).
Provided by Rick Klemp