Published: December 26, 2008 11:20 am      

Bluefield native awarded Bronze Star

BLUEFIELD — A Bluefield native who plans to come home for the holidays was recently recognized for his services in Iraq.

Dr. Bob Kiely, who is now the medical director of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue in Florida, was recently presented the Bronze Star for his work in Iraq while he was deputy commander of the 345th Combat Support Hospital in the Anbar province of western Iraq, a region known to American service personnel as “the Wild West.”

Kiely, a lieutenant colonel, joined the Army before his 56th birthday. He had never served in the military or JROTC before deciding to enlist. When asked about his decision to join, he said it was inspired by “90 percent patriotism and 10 percent adventure.”

While in Iraq, Kiely was asked by the Marine Corps to be their deputy commander for the mass causality team serving in Ramadi. He ran all the medical and clinical activity of the hospital. This involved being exposed to weapons’ fire while traveling in mine-resistant vehicles and the Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft the can land like a helicopter and fly like an airplane.

Kiely said he was informed about receiving the Bronze Star on Nov. 1. He planned to travel Christmas Eve to be with his mother, Jennie French Kiely of Bluefield, on Christmas Day.

“I may be going to Afghanistan in 18 months,” Kiely said before Christmas. “I’ll probably be a forward surgical team commander.”

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com