Thomsen, Brett C.
Brett C. Thomsen
US Army
2007 – 2011
The son of Tom and Kate Thomsen, brother to Scott, Brett grew up on a quiet country road along side of the Fairways of Halfmoon Golf Course just outside of Mechanicville. He liked sports and hanging out with friends. A solid athlete in high school, he played on the soccer, basketball and baseball teams.
The senior year is something every kid going through high school can’t wait for. When a US Army Recruiter visited his school during Brett’s senior year, though, he made a tough decision.
Brett signed up. Direction, motivation, discipline . . . he knew that Army would give him all of that.
Less than a month after striding across the stage of the Paul N. Luther Auditorium in a red cap and gown with a high school diploma clutched in his hand back in June of 2007, Brett Thomsen became a Soldier. For him, within a year, a half a world away, that transition became a reality.
On July 11, 2007, Brett was at Fort Jackson, South Carolina to begin the rigorous training that military boot camps are noted for. It was a far cry from the pre-season sports training regime. Training now was about survival. From South Carolina, Brett was sent to Fort Lee, Virginia for nine weeks of specialized training in supply.
In March 2008, Brett found himself in the inhospitable terrain of Ghazini Province in Afghanistan. He then served a second term in Afghanistan. It is an explosive and volatile environment, a reality for which no high school social studies curriculum could ever fully prepare a student. The citizens of Afghanistan employed to work within the FOB’s, he says, are friendly and helpful. But it becomes harder all the time to distinguish between friend and foe as the members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban become more emboldened as time goes on.
Upon returning home to Civilian life at 21 years old, Brett now struggles with the aftermath of war, the loss of a close friend in Afghanistan and PTSD. He stays in contact with his Army “brothers” that he bonded with. Brett has one son, Preston, whom he cherishes. Brett has been employed by General Electric for the past four years.