Army veteran to speak to Washington students
Kevin Ola, a U.S. Army veteran and inspector for the Transportation Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security, will share stories of his military experience with Washington Junior/Senior High School students on Friday, Veterans Day, at 2 p.m. in the high school gym/auditorium.
Local veterans are also invited to attend the annual assembly sponsored by the high school’s student council. The band and chorus will perform patriotic songs and all those who have served in any branch of the military will be recognized.
The public is welcome to attend.
Ola was born and raised in Williamsville, N.Y., near Buffalo, and now lives in Avella, where his father was raised.
A graduate of Gannon University where he was a member of the ROTC, Ola was deployed to Mosul, Iraq, in 2008 and embedded with the Iraqi Army as part of a Military Transition Team (MiTT) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His awards and medals include the Bronze Star Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
After leaving active duty, Ola served as an officer in Pennsylvania Army National Guard, where he served as intelligence officer for all National Guard security checkpoint operations throughout Pittsburgh during the G-20 Economic Summit in 2009, until 2016.
Ola, the father of two daughters, currently works as a transportation security inspector for the TSA and DHS.