ROCHELLE — Joe Drought of Rochelle spent a total of eight years in the United States Army in active duty and 1.5 years in the U.S. Army Reserves. He went on tours of service in Korea and Germany. 

Drought got into the service in 1981 and went into the U.S. Army Military Police Corps after basic training at Fort McClellan in Alabama. He was sent to Korea right after military police school in early 1982.

“I wanted to go somewhere challenging where there was some action and toughness,” Drought said. “Korea was something that fit that. It was quite a culture shock. Back then there weren't a lot of American businesses and food there. It was all completely different, and that's why I wanted to go. I wanted to see and experience something other than what I'd grown up with. It was a hard place to be and there were some dangerous things going on. But I learned an awful lot and I really came to love Asian culture and the Korean people.”

After being in Korea for about five months, Drought was selected to work for the Army's criminal investigation division on a surveillance detail following military equipment shipments and looking for and making cases on equipment being diverted to the black market.

Drought was then selected to go to patrol dog handler school at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He elected to stay at the school as a dog trainer for a year, before being selected to go to explosive detector dog handler school. 

“Those dogs were trained to find bombs in support of the 1984 Olympics and presidential campaign,” Drought said. “I went into that detail. I then went to Fort Rucker (now Fort Novosel) in Alabama. I made it to the rank of sergeant, which was quick for the military police corps. Rank doesn't come quickly there and I think some of the assignments and awards I'd gotten helped with that promotion.”

In 1985, Drought left the Army to go home to be with his family due to medical issues his stepfather was dealing with. After his stepfather recovered, Drought missed the military and encountered difficulty finding work back home as a police officer. After nine months out, he chose to re-enlist. 

Drought’s next stop was Fort Riley in Kansas, where he joined the first infantry division in a military police company that was a rapid deployment force on a two-hour recall to be on its way to anywhere in the world within two hours' notice. He was then given orders to go to Augsburg, Germany, to serve as security and intelligence sergeant for that community.

“I stayed up to date on secure communications and terrorist intelligence and enemy intelligence,” Drought said. “It was during Cold War times. I did that for about 10 months. I knew all of the military police there. I heard that they were losing their bomb dog team because a handler was leaving. I wanted to get back into doing that. I was released from my position and allowed to go handle a dog in Germany.”

Drought then went back to the U.S. and got married before bringing his wife back to Germany to live with him. The couple spent the first two years of their marriage there. Drought worked on the bomb dog team up until the end of his assignment, when he made the decision to leave active duty for good. 

“My wife is a great school teacher,” Drought said. “At that time I'd seen her in her classroom. She was a special education teacher then. If she was going to have a career and those kids were going to have the benefit of having her as a teacher, moving around every couple of years wasn't the way. I got out of the Army again and stayed in the reserves for 1.5 years. We came back here to Illinois where we're from.”

Drought’s civilian career began as an officer with the Rock Valley College Police Department before he was hired full-time as an Ogle County Sheriff's Office deputy, where he worked on patrol, as a detective and helped to start its K9 program.

After a number of years working in Ogle County, Drought had the opportunity to return to RVCPD and was later promoted to the position of chief, which he served as for 23 years. He retired five years ago with 37 total years in law enforcement. 

In recent years, Drought has become heavily involved with local veterans organizations and volunteering. He’s currently the quartermaster of Rochelle VFW Post 3878 and is a past commander. He’s a member of the American Legion Post 403 in Rochelle and a past finance officer. Drought also works with the Eastern Lee-Ogle Honor Guard providing military honors for veterans' funerals and is involved with the local Veterans Assistance Commission and helps drive veterans to VA appointments. 

Drought has had one spinal surgery due to injuries sustained during his service days and has another coming up in the future. He’s found that the hobby of fly fishing helps him with pain management and takes his mind off injuries and things he doesn’t want to remember from his service. He’s found volunteer opportunities in that area, too. 

“I got involved with an organization called Project Healing Waters, which offers therapeutic fly fishing for veterans and I've volunteered ever since,” Drought said. “I participate as well because I’m a service-related disabled veteran. I can help people the same way it's helped me. I step into a stream and my back doesn't hurt. It takes my mind off everything else. It can help people with pain, PTSD and depression and give them something positive. I'm helping with work on expanding that program more locally.”

Despite his injuries, Drought said he feels blessed that he came away from his service and dangerous experiences like working with an explosive detector dog without serious injuries. Working through difficult and dangerous times in the military helped to form his character.

Drought said his time in the Army gave him a deep sense of service, leadership skills, and friends all over the world.

“My purpose in life is to serve,” Drought said. “That requires sacrifice. You sacrifice comfort, being around your family and the things that are familiar to you, and your safety. You have to find a way to be comfortable being uncomfortable. And the mission comes first. I learned that how I feel or what I think individually doesn't matter when it comes to serving and doing a job. There's a sense of discipline that you get out of serving. It shows you that anything worth doing is worth doing right and that attention to detail is important. If you harness those things after serving, that can help you in your career.”

Drought is currently working to bring more members to the VFW and American Legion as membership numbers are falling. He asks that any qualified veteran join, even if it’s just getting their name on the roster. Membership helps veterans to stay connected, and higher numbers help the organizations to maintain their influence with lawmakers to impact legislation that can help other veterans.

Drought has found a purpose at the VFW volunteering and spending time with other veterans. He didn’t serve alongside any of them, but they share a common bond.

“We all put on the uniform, signed a contract and took an oath to defend the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic,” Drought said. “It's like writing a blank check to the United States of America, up to and including your life if necessary. I don't care whether you were a cook or an administrative clerk and never left a base here in the states or if you were in the fires of Hell on some foreign soil defending our ideals and our allies, it was an important job to do. That bonds all of us.”

Honoring Our American Hero is a series that will print twice a month in the News-Leader. If you know an American Hero you would like to have featured, contact Jeff Helfrich at jhelfrich@rochellenews-leader.com or call 815-561-2151.