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Finding a sense of purpose

MICHAEL KELLY The Marietta Times Kyle Hockenberry works at the front desk of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Monday. on Monday.

One of the recent additions to the staff of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office is a well-known Afghanistan war veteran, Kyle Hockenberry.

The former Army corporal is working about 15 hours a week at the front desk of the office in the courthouse annex.

Hockenberry, 27, said he was acquainted with Major Brian Schuck, who made him aware that the office was looking for someone to serve part-time in the organization’s security and transport operations. He said the job started about five weeks ago.

“I wanted a part-time job, something to do that I could enjoy, something to give me a sense of purpose,” Hockenberry said in an interview Monday at work. “I met with them, they gave me a test run, it all worked out.”

Hockenberry was injured in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2011, losing both his legs and his left arm. In 2014, he and his wife moved into a specially fitted home in Newport, which became theirs through local fundraising and help from the Building for America’s Bravest foundation.

His job with the sheriff’s office involves a variety of tasks. He monitors a host of security cameras placed throughout the building, handles paperwork such as subpoenas and warrants, answers the phone, assists with concealed carry permits and coordinates prisoner transport.

He’s developed a profound respect for the range of tasks and duties the sheriff’s office performs.

“There’s a lot more to it than I originally thought,” he said. “It’s been kind of eye-opening.”

Hockenberry said it reminds him in some ways of the Army.

“In the military I had that sense of purpose, of being part of something larger than just myself,” he said. “This is a similar feeling.”

Sheriff Larry Mincks said he was involved in recruiting Hockenberry.

“I’ve known him for quite some time, and we had this part-time opening, I had to man that spot where people come in,” Mincks said. “He’s got a great disposition for this job, for greeting and talking to people, talking on the phone. He’s getting stronger at the job every day.”

Hockenberry said the functions performed by the sheriff’s office are surprisingly complex.

“I’m just realizing how much work gets done out of this office,” he said. Prisoner transport is more than moving people between the jail and the courthouse. A person arrested on a warrant out of state, he said, might require sheriff’s office personnel to go anywhere in the country to escort the prisoner back to Washington County.

The job suits him well.

“I really do love working here. The people are super-friendly, it’s just a nice atmosphere,” he said.

Kyle Hockenberry

¯ Age: 27.

¯ Residence: Newport.

¯ The job: Security and transport coordination, part time, Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

¯ Service: Army corporal, injured in the line of duty in Afghanistan, 2011.

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