Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kevin M. Kruthers enlisted in the Army in 2004 as a Patriot Enhanced Operator/Maintainer. In October 2010, he attended Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker. He masterfully executed “Austere Challenge” including GCC STRATCOM level visibility messaging via Multi-National Patriot Live Fire with his unit’s Radar Set and PAC-3 ELES Launching Stations.

He exceeded expectations during “Juniper Cobra.” He was hand selected by BN leadership to serve as Convoy Commander of the longest convoy within the BN in support of “Minden Shock.” He was the Honor Graduate of his Patriot Top Gun Course and Distinguished Honor Graduate of WOAC. He is also a graduate of the ADAFCO Course. In 2016, CW2 Kruthers was assigned to 10^th AAMDC and was selected by COL Eickhoff to lead existing defense designs updates while simultaneously initiating development of defense designs for previously non-existent OPLANS.

He served as “lynch pin” in Austere Challenge 17 Crisis Action Planning within 603^rd Air Operations Center Strategy Division and Combat Plans, providing air and missile defense expertise for the Area Air Defense Plan development. He led efforts in support of garnering HQDA approval for DPICC Operational Needs Statement resulting in enhanced warfighter and combat readiness. CW2 Kruthers won the esteemed 2016 Shipton Award recognizing his efforts above all others in the ADA Branch holistically.