Saluting our Heroes: Sgt. First Class Joshua Kiernan

FORT GORDON, Ga. - His army career has taken him all over the world. Now he’s back at Fort Gordon with a promotion and new training exercise for soldiers. This is the story of Joshua Kiernan - from pastor to sergeant.

From Fort Knox, Kentucky, to Korea and several places in between, Sergeant First Class Joshua Kiernan has always loved meeting others.

"..I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, while there I deployed to Afghanistan for a year. Upon returning to Fort Lewis, I then went to Germany," said Sgt. First Class Kiernan, "People are people everywhere we go. Finding the general good in people is really impactful, whether it was in Europe, South Korea or Afghanistan.”

Being stationed in unique places also created a special bond with his kids.

"..To let them see the things I didn’t get to see as a kid is probably the greatest memory. All of the assemblies and the career days, showing up in uniform...Just the grin and the huge smile, yeah my dad’s in the military…yeah. You’re going to get me choked up!” said Sgt. Kiernan. 

Now back at Fort Gordon, he’s an instructor for the 25 uniform course and even developed a new training exercise.

"I am currently in charge of a program we call Capstone, which is the culminating event when soldiers completed their training.” said Sgt. Kiernan. 

The former pastor always loved teaching which brought him to his current role.

"The original intent was to be a Chaplin in the Army, but sometimes God has different plans for us.” said Sgt. Kiernan. 

FOX54 salutes Sergeant First Class Joshua Kiernan.

"My aspirations are to continue to do this as long as I can effectively train and mentor soldiers.” said Sgt. Kiernan. 

After his time in the Army, he wants to work for the VA as a vocational counselor, helping soldiers transition out of service.