Raschen to deploy to Kuwait

Ed Raschen (right), to deploy to Kuwait.

ALTAMONT, June 24: Ed Raschen, assistant principal and athletic director for Labette County High School, is set to deploy to Kuwait for as long as 400 days with the Kansas Army National Guard at the end of the month.

“My orders say for 400 days, but itll be less than that,” Raschen said. “I should be back sometime in April, for sure May, in that timeframe.”

Raschen, who took over as assistant principal and AD two years ago, has served in the National Guard for 10 years and holds the rank of captain. This will be his first deployment overseas.

“I’m going in a support role,” Raschen said. “Theres five units from the state of Kansas that are deployed in that area. Kuwait is a support hub so where I’m going is a logistics area for all those units.”

Raschen missed the last month of the 2016-17 academic year at LCHS training in Washington, DC. Shortly after returning from that stint, he received word that he would deploy.

“There’s so many units from this state that are being deployed or currently deployed. I knew it was a matter of time before my number was called,” Raschen said. “I’m not going with my normal unit, but they needed slots to fill. I was one of the slots that could plug in.”

While LCHS Principal Shane Holtzman filled in for Raschen during the last month of the school year this past spring, $506 will fill both the assistant principal and athletic director roles on an interim basis for 2017-18.

The district has had discussions with candidates for an interim assistant principal, while the athletic director responsibilities will be divided between football head coach Sean Price and boys basketball head coach Brad Smith.

“We’ve done this before, and I’ve done this before logistically,” Smith said. “I’ll take over during the fall when Price is coaching football, then well switch in the winter when I’m coaching basketball.”

Price was formerly the athletic director at Chetopa High School when he was the school’s football coach prior to taking the job at Labette County. Smith has also previously served as the LCHS athletic director.

“Weve talked about what we think were going to do,” Price said. “I don’t expect anything to be too challenging though because Raschen has done a great job building relationships.”

A veteran of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division himself, Price understands Raschen’s call of duty.

“I served in the military, so I understand Raschens situation. So it’s an honor really,” Price said. “I think it’s going to work really well.”

For Raschen, while a deployment is never ideal, he feels his service overseas will provide a more fulfilling career with the National Guard.

“Even with the disruption, as a soldier having been in the Guard for 10 years, Ive had a successful career,” Raschen said. “I trained for 10 years to do something, and now I finally get that chance. As a soldier, we all want to feel significant, that we put on the uniform for a reason.”

“We want to hold the fort down and do the best we can,” Smith added. “It’s an honor to help the school for him and that’s what were going to do.