Military digest 4/25/02

Cape sailor among first to respond

Jason A. Lowes and the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson were among the U.S. forces to respond to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Lowes, son of Greg and Cindy Lowes of Cape Girardeau, is a machinery repair technician sailor aboard the Carl Vinson.

Lowes, 20, manufactures replacement parts for engines and equipment.

The ship was initially scheduled to help maintain sanctions against Iraq and monitor the no-fly zones over the country.

On Oct. 7, the ship participated in airstrikes on Afghanistan that marked the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom.

New officer has ties to Cape Girardeau

Christopher G. Bradke has graduated from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga., and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Bradke, a military intelligence officer, has been in the military for more than two years.

He is the son of Geary R. and Dianna S. Bradke of Conway, Ark. His wife, Carrie, is the daughter of Jim and Lois Shoemate of Cape Girardeau.

Bradke is a 1992 graduate of Conway High School and a 1997 graduate of the University of the Ozarks at Clarksville, Ark.

-- From staff reports