A heart for service

Les Kodlick has had an illustrious career in the United States Air Force, though you wouldn’t know it at first glance. He’s not the type to be verbose about his achievements and doesn’t display his accolades on a wall. He’s humble, but dedicated — the mark of a true servant.

The retired Air Force Brigadier General settled in Kalispell in 2015 after a career that literally took him around the world through 19 assignments ranging from a deployment to Afghanistan to the halls of the Pentagon. For the majority of his career, Kodlick worked in public affairs — communicating the Air Force’s mission and activities to neighboring communities and members of the civilian press.

“There was absolutely stress, there were constant challenges, but I worked with great people,” Kodlick said. “As a commander and leader, it’s not that you have to know everything, it’s you rely on people that are smarter than you … it’s you job to pull those resources together.”

Kodlick’s many roles included a stint heading up communications for the Air Force Space Command, three years as the public affairs advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force and serving as commander on three separate occasions.

But Kodlick didn’t originally set out to join the military.

He grew up as a “military brat,” moving around the country wherever the Air Force called his father. It’s an experience that introduced him to a number of cultures, cuisines and ways of living.

“It’s funny, growing up I knew countries and capitals more than I knew states,” he said.

While attending college at Northern Arizona University, he explored five different majors before setting on communications. And although he wasn’t aiming to follow in his father’s footsteps, the Air Force presented tempting opportunities to travel and to serve.

Kodlick was commissioned as an officer in 1984 and spent nearly 30 years honing his communications skills, completing missions and exploring the world in the process.

“We lived in some fantastic places — Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado … traveled overseas,” Kodlick said. “It’s interesting — my most rewarding and challenging assignment was Afghanistan.”

Kodlick deployed to Afghanistan in the early 2000s where he served as commander of Bagram Air Base, which was tasked with supplying air support to the troops on the ground. Back in those days, the base was much more grassroots than it is now — they slept in tents and had to watch for nearby land mines.

“We were surrounded by minefields that had unexploded ordinance in them so we actually had a minefield right next to the hospital,” Kodlick said. “You were always keenly aware of your surroundings, but you had work to do and missions to accomplish.”

They called him “Mayor of Bagram” and that’s essentially what Kodlick was — he functioned as the city manager, making sure that everything from the fire department to air traffic ran smoothly.

Part of his mission was to leave the country better than he found it, which translated into humanitarian work with local villages. One encounter in particular stood out from the rest. He and a few other Air Force personnel attending a meeting with the village elders, who had requested assistance building a well, school and hospital.

“You’re in the middle of this dirt area with dirt huts and they had literally rolled out the red carpet. They had this red carpet sitting on the dirt and this red velvet couch and chair,” Kodlick said. “It was probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life.”

Throughout all of the ups and downs in his career, and assignments both near and far, there has been one constant by Kodlick’s side — his wife, Carol.

When asked what Kodlick is most proud of, it’s not the Distinguished Service Medal or the Bronze Star — but his spouse.

“Spouses and families serve in their own special way — many people don’t realize that,” he said. “When the service member is deployed or away on training .. it’s the spouse who’s left at home to deal with the broken down car, the kids, the washing machine that’s not working.”

Kodlick’s deployments ranged anywhere from weeks and months to the better part of a year. And more than once, he wasn’t able to tell Carol where he was going or when he’d be back.

“I’ll call you when I can,” he’d tell her, and off he went.

“My wife will tell you that my proposal to her was anything but romantic — I wanted her to know what the lifestyle would be,” Kodlick explained.

But 19 moves later, he may finally be ready to settle down for good.

“When you move in the military, you keep all the original packing for your television and that kind of stuff. You buy industrial strength furniture that’s like concrete and steel so the movers can bang it up,” he said. “When we moved here, Carol threw all the boxes away, all the packing material and bought furniture that she likes. We’re here to stay.”

Though Kodlick is out of the service, that doesn’t mean he left the public relations world behind. He operates his own company, Kodlick Consulting, and works with clients all over the country including nonprofits, veterans and in the advertising and marketing sector.

“I enjoy PR, I enjoy communication,” he said. “You get to help people and you get to help companies and organizations.”

In Kalispell, he’s found the best of both worlds.

“Being here we feel very, very lucky,” Kodlick said. “We’ve traveled all over the world and we’ve lived in lots of places and we chose Kalispell because of the people and the community.”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss can be reached at (406) 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.

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