From the Armed Forces

• Joseph R. Kost has been promoted to the rank of chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Kost, a manpower superintendent with 25 years of military service, is assigned to Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Neb.

He is the son of Richard Kost, Mount Prospect, and Barb Dulberg, McHenry.

• Army National Guard Pvt. Jose L. Lopez, brother of Arnold Lopez of Des Plaines, graduated from Basic Combat training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.

During the nine weeks of training, Lopez studied the Army mission and received instruction and training exercises in drill and ceremonies, Army history, core values and traditions, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, rifle marksmanship, weapons use, map reading and land navigation, foot marches, armed and unarmed combat and field maneuvers and tactics.

• Sgt. Spiro Tromboukis of Des Plaines left for Germany Nov. 29 with the 244th Army Liaison Team, led by Col. Michael Zerbonia, to participate in a historic exercise called "Torgau," named after the small German town where members of the United States Army's 5th Corps and Soviet soldiers met by chance and joined together to defeat Germany's Third Reich on April 25, 1945. The exercise opens the opportunity to celebrate the event and build U.S. and Russian relations.

The 244th arrived in Grafenwoehr to prepare for the arrival of Russian officers due to participate in the U.S. led training exercise, facilitated by U.S. Army forces in Europe and 5th Corps. The purpose of the training exercise is to work on scenarios that focus on stability, support, transition and reconstruction of a rising, but unstable government. Additionally, there was a field training exercise simultaneously taking place approximately 40 minutes away at the Hohenfels Training Area.

The exercise is based on basic formations of the military, such as Corps and Division levels. The 244th and their Russian counterparts acted as corps headquarters, transferring data and commands to the division. The goal of the exercise is to promote understanding and cooperation of the two military forces. Additional goals ensure the combined U.S./Russian Division act appropriately to the scenario, and develop common reporting and briefing formats.

The 244th unit members returned home just before Christmas and will attend next year's exercise in Russia.