Vietnam, Iraq veteran named commander of the Montezuma American Legion

​       Ron “Curly” Albrecht as a Full Bird Colonel before retiring from the Iowa National Guard in 2012. Albrecht also served a tour of duty in Iraq in 2009. He was recently named Commander of the Montezuma American Legion Blakely-Stevens Post 169.

By J.O. Parker
 
         The Montezuma American Legion Blakely-Stevens Post 169 has named a new commander.
         Ron “Curly” Albrecht, a Vietnam and Iraq War Veteran, took the reins of the legion from Ron Hensel, who had served as commander since 2010.
         Hensel stepped down in May due to health issues.
        Albrecht’s military career began in 1971 when he and a buddy at Waverly Shell Rock High School decided they would join the Navy together as a way to see the world.
       Albrecht left for Vietnam in November 1972 and served in the Gulf of Tonkin on the aircraft carrier, the USS Ranger, where he worked as a yellow shirt on the flight deck as an enlisted sailor. The yellow shirt identifies sailors on the flight deck as an aircraft director.
       “Our average day in Vietnam on the aircraft carrier was about 17 hours either launching, recovering or prepping for the next launch,” said Albrecht in an earlier interview. “When I went to Vietnam, I weighed 185 pounds. When I came home, I weighed 145 pounds from the constant running on the flight deck.”
        Following the war, Albrecht was discharged from the Navy as an E3. He decided to return to college at the University of Northern Iowa where he earned a degree in education. He spent several years teaching art at the Denver Community School District in Iowa.
         It was during this time that Albrecht got the itch to return to the military and signed on with the Iowa National Guard in 1982 with the hope of going to Officer Training School.
        “Being a Navy man, the only way I could sign up for officer training was as a cook,” he said. “I was assured I would not have to cook, as long as I passed officer training.”
            Albrecht passed with flying colors.
       As a weekend warrior serving in the Iowa National Guard, Albrecht said his phone kept ringing as supervisors were always calling with a new assignment for him. He served as a commander in Dubuque, Davenport and Sioux City.
        Albrecht was then promoted to Colonel and was Commander at Camp Dodge of the Iowa Military Academy and Commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 34th Infantry Division. He also did a tour of duty in Iraq in 2009 as deputy chief of staff for an infantry division, all while serving as a weekend warrior.
           In addition to serving in the 2nd Brigade, Albrecht served as a company commander twice, and on three Brigade commands.
            While in the guard, Albrecht missed the birth of two of his sons, but was home when the third one was born to him and his wife, Janice.
         “Back when I came home from Vietnam, I had one of the welcomes that everyone has already told us about,” Albrecht said in an earlier interview. “I got spit on and all that stuff because in those days you wore a uniform when you came home. When I came home from Iraq, we flew into Maine and there were hundreds of people shaking our hands when we got off the plane.”
          As a leader of soldiers, Albrecht said there is value in listening to those he commands. He said no matter the rank, everyone has opinions and often times,  there’s a lot of good ideas down the ranks.
         “You have that atmosphere or that leadership environment where people can talk freely and give you their ideas.” he said.
           Albrecht said he learned that if a fox hole needed to be dug, that he would order it  done, but he would be right down there digging as well.
          In 2012, Albrecht learned from a military man who keeps service records that he was the last Iowan still serving that also served in Vietnam. Later that year, he retired as a full bird Colonel and was brevetted to a One-Star Brigadier General.
       He later spent time working for Northrop Grumman Corporation as a senior mentor trainer with the company.
         “I worked with Battalion Brigades and division staff as a mentor,” he said of his job.
        As commander of the Montezuma American Legion, Albrecht said his goals are to recruit new members and make sure the public knows that the Legion is there to serve them as they have helped us, too.
       Albrecht and Janice moved to Montezuma and Lake Ponderosa in 2010. In addition to three sons, the couple has five grandchildren.
       Albrecht is a lifetime member of the VFW and a lifetime member of the Amvets in Cedar Falls. He joined the Montezuma American Legion in 2011.
        When asked what he enjoys doing in his spare time, Albrecht said doing more traveling.
       “We enjoy going places where we want to go instead of the military telling us where to go,” he said with a smile.

​     Ron “Curly” Albrecht in 1972 as an E3 in the Navy. Albrecht’s military career began working on the flight deck of the USS Ranger in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. After the war, Albrecht taught art at Denver Community School before joining the Air National Guard.