New London County is known for its military involvement from the Coast Guard Academy to the Naval Submarine Base New London. Many veterans who have served and protected our country are now doing that in a different way.
Long before Glenn Penkofflidbeck joined the ranks as a fifth and sixth-grade science teacher at East Lyme Middle School, the former Air Force Major was already giving back to his community and country.
An eye injury halted his career as a pilot. So he turned to defense intelligence.
"About a year before the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, I got a call to go to the White House and to meet with President Bush," Penkofflidbeck said.
From which he gained some notoriety and responsibility.
"Shortly thereafter I was working for the J2, which is the officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I was briefing General Colin Powell, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And once things got going, the Vice President," he said.
Penkofflidbeck put in 14 years of service between active duty and the reserves. He’s received praise for his work during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, including a Joint Service Commendation Medal for meritorious service for the armed forces of the United States from Sept. 1987 to Oct. 1991.
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"I felt like I was Jack Ryan in a Tom Clancy novel for a bit," he said, adding that the stress and amount of moving was a reason for leaving.
Penkofflidbeck credited education helped open the doors to these opportunities.
"I wanted to teach. I wanted to give back to my community," he said.
He started his teaching career in Essex, took a hiatus to start Three Sisters Farms, a business that sells raw and natural products, and is now back teaching in East Lyme, paying it forward.
So is First Class Petty Officer Larry Watson, who joined the Navy and is now serving the East Lyme community as a police officer.
"Whether we really realize it or not, everybody has that certain want to do something that’s bigger than yourself," Watson said.
He served on the USS Springfield and the USS Connecticut both stationed at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton.
His father, uncle and grandfather were all in the military. He’s the only one in his generation of his family who decided to join.
He’s still in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
"It certainly is a privilege, I think. I look back fondly and I’ll always have that with me," Watson said.
