The Rosemount Beyond the Yellow Ribbon network hosted its ‘Patriots in the Park’ festivities at Rosemount Central Park on June 10, 2025.
The free event, which was open to the public, featured music, entertainment, food, games, giveaways, static military vehicle displays, a fire truck, and interactive information booths.
Onstage, the Rosemount BTYR was recognized for its efforts in supporting the military community. While Stefanie Hurt, BTYR community outreach coordinator, awarded coins to each member of the Rosemount team, Taylor Kristoffe-Jones, BTYR corporate outreach coordinator, provided remarks.
She said the group demonstrates “what’s possible when commitment meets compassion.”
“They make it personal,” Kristoffe-Jones said. “They make it feel like family. And they make the rest of us want to step up a little more. Beyond the Yellow Ribbon has always been about more than a program. It’s a promise–one that says we will never leave our military community behind, whether they’re returning from deployment, navigating hardships, or aging into new needs. And Rosemount? You don’t just keep that promise–you also lead it…You remind us all that while we may serve in different communities, we stand together as one united effort.”
In 2024, the Rosemount BTYR’s support for the military community included rent and mortgage assistance, utility payments, groceries, appliances, car repairs, care packages for deployed service members, holiday meals, holiday gifts for veterans in assisted living, recognition for high school military recruits, and scholarships for veterans attending community college.
Rosemount BTYR also hosted a Veterans Day banquet and free bowling[O(1][MA2] n[O(3][O(4] ight for military families and supported numerous military causes and area events.
The group received a certificate of appreciation signed by Army Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, Minnesota National Guard’s adjutant general, and Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Erickson, Minnesota National Guard’s command senior enlisted leader.
In addition, local resident and Army veteran, Ken Talbert, 96, for his military service. Talbert served in the Army for two years during the Korean War and received the Combat Infantry Medal.
After his military service, he attended college and earned a teaching degree. He taught accounting in Rosemount for 34 years until he retired in 1991. Talbert and his friend, Ted Northwick, co-managed the project to build the Rosemount Veterans Memorial at Rosemount Central Park. The evening’s celebration was designated as Ken Talbert Night.
There are 50 BTYR community networks across Minnesota. To learn more, visit MinnesotaNationalGuard.ng.mil/btyr.
June 1, 2025 (ST. PAUL, Minnesota) – A retirement event was held for Minnesota Army National Guard Chaplain Colonel Philip “Buddy” Winn Jr., June 8, 2025, in Osseo, Minnesota. Chaplain Winn assumed duties as the State Chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard on March 15, 2020, and is retiring from the military, having served more than 37 years in both the National Guard and the Active Army.
“Chaplain Winn has been such an inspiration to the entire Minnesota National Guard in so many ways. His legacy and what he has put in motion for the future are equally powerful motivations within our formation and the community,” said Chaplain Keith Beckwith, Operations Chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard.
When the term “Military Service” charges with muddy boots through a person’s mind, the last person people think of in most cases is the unit chaplain. Every service-member remembers their buddies, those on the line with them through hot and cold, rain and shine. Most people remember their first commanders, that person making decisions during tense times and even mandatory fun. Few remember that crusty senior enlisted person that called them out for having their hands in their pockets and only trying to encourage professional disciplines. Everyone remembers the chaplain, that friendly face that came around to be a mentor or a friend during good times and bad.
Chaplain Winn enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard as a 13F, Artillery Forward Observer April 17, 1988. A graduate from Osseo Senior High School, he later attended the Forward Observer Advanced Individual Training course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1989 where he advanced as the Honor Graduate.
Choosing to transfer to the Active Army, Winn was stationed with the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey in the Republic of South Korea during the early 90s and later assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, where he served as an Assistant Division Fire Support Sergeant and COLT Team Sergeant. COLTs or Combat Observation Lasing Teams are a sub-specialization within the Army’s 13F career field which trains in the directing of long-range fire such as rocket assisted artillery or GPS guided munitions. In 1994 he left Active Duty and entered the Minnesota National Guard serving in several roles with the 1st Battalion – 151st Field Artillery. – you could say: full-time roles across the 34th Division Artillery.
Through an unexpected turn of events, Winn was set up on a blind date by his brother in early 2000 and ambushed by a lovely woman who he later married the following August. His wife Colette has been by his side through hardships and victories, deployments and times when duty calls. Together they have three children and six grandchildren while still being very active within the greater community. In 2001, following a second choice in his career, Winn answered the call to ministry and entered the seminary. Explaining his decision to his wife Colette, it was her response that made the difference.
“She didn’t say, ‘I think that is what the Lord has in store for you’. She said, ‘I think that is what the Lord has for us’,” commented Winn.
The young couple faced the future together while he continued to serve with the Minnesota National Guard and finish a degree in Information Technology in Management from Concordia University in St. Paul. The events of September 11, 2001 set in motion many changes, but their commitment to be together has stayed for going on 25 years.
“I am more emotional about his retirement than Buddy. This has been our life, our kids’ lives. This will be a change of lifestyle for us all,” said Colette.
He was commissioned as a Chaplain Candidate in 2003 and served with 1st Battalion – 151st Field Artillery in Montevideo, Minnesota until 2006. His accession into the Army Chaplaincy culminated with a master’s in arts degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota and a promotion to Captain in November 2006.
“A U.S. Constitutional endorsement by the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC) is meant for clergy who are led to serve as chaplains in nondenominational churches and networks of churches for military or other federal or state agencies,” added Winn. “It is a tremendous honor.”
In April 2007, Chaplain Winn mobilized with the Minnesota National Guard’s 2nd Battalion – 147th Aviation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom serving as the Battalion Chaplain. Following that 16-month deployment he was selected for assignment as Brigade Chaplain, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division in July of 2009. He was later promoted to Major and deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation New Dawn and Operation Spartan Shield until 2012.
In 2013, Chaplain Winn was selected as the Full-Time Support Chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard and assigned as Operations Chaplain, and later Command Chaplain for the 34th Infantry Division with a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.
The hard-charging initiative of the leadership team built a Best Unit Ministry Team Competition in 2014 which drew positive attention of leaders from the National Guard Bureau and challenging the skills both tactically and spiritually of the group. In Mid-2015 Winn inspired a Religious Advisors Field Training eXercise FTX on the back end of the readiness exercise known as Vigilant Guard.
He served another tour in Kuwait from 2018-2019 in support of Task Force Spartan as the Command Chaplain before returning to Minnesota and assuming the duties as State Chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard on March 15, 2020.
“Our Chaplaincy here in Minnesota is well known across the nation; the Chief of Chaplains knows us by name. Our team took a serious role in outfitting the formations with a high level of spiritual readiness and prepared them to sustain that during times of stress,” added Winn.
Chaplain Winn led his teams through the process of operationalizing spiritual readiness. From a pilot program into an initiative and finally a full-speed training across the Army. This was done
to support federal missions such as overseas deployments, but state missions like disaster response and civil unrest as well. His team supported the largest deployment of unit ministry teams in the history of the Minnesota National Guard during Operation Safety Net in Minneapolis, late 2020, supporting over 7,100 activated Soldiers and Airmen. That team then implemented a collective Prayer for Peace event in eight different denominations along with members of the community and civic organizations.
He worked tirelessly developing and sustaining lifelong partnerships with the US Army Office of the Chief of Chaplains so that the Minnesota National Guard’s Religious Support Teams would always be seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the U.S. Army and the chaplaincy. The service of Chaplain Winn embracing the efforts of his team, mentoring when needed and praising as promised, helped to build effective and engaging ministry teams while supporting programs and initiatives across the force as well as here in Minnesota.
Thank you, Sir, for all that you have done for your community, state, and nation as well as the families and 13,000 Soldiers and Airmen of the Minnesota National Guard.
“All of us in our persistent, imperfect state are critical to the success of our mission. And it has been an honor of a lifetime to serve in your company,” said Winn.
At just 22 years old, Spc. Aidan McGill, a Saint Paul native, and military police officer assigned to the Stillwater-based 34th Military Police Company, is making strides in both his personal and professional life.
McGill enlisted in June 2022, after his freshman year in college. Having graduated from Saint Thomas Academy, an all-boys catholic college preparatory and military high school, McGill realized something was missing in his life.
“I wanted that piece of me,” said McGill. “I really enjoyed the structure and brotherhood [from high school] and so I enlisted that summer, right between my freshman and sophomore years of college.”
McGill originally chose his military job as a police officer because he was interested in the field. He spent nearly five months at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for one-station unit training.
“It was a humbling experience,” he said of initial entry training. “They definitely break you down, but they build you up even stronger.”
After returning home, McGill took a different path for his civilian career. This spring, he will graduate from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in business operations and supply chain management and a minor in business analytics. In June, he will begin an 18-month leadership development program with a large financial company, all while continuing to serve in the Minnesota National Guard.
Throughout his career, McGill’s drive for success has opened doors for him. In 2024, his leaders selected him to become the guidon-bearer for the 34th Military Police Company. This honor is typically given to the Soldiers with the highest Army Combat Fitness Test score. That achievement also presented the opportunity for him to apply for and ultimately attend the 52nd Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange, known as NOREX, in Norway. The exchange is the longest-running military exchange partnership in the Department of Defense.
“It was the coolest Army experience I’ve ever had,” said McGill, who spent nearly two weeks living and training in the harsh Norwegian wilderness, sleeping in hand-made snow caves, skiing up mountains, pulling sleds, and learning winter survival skills from Norwegian service members. “I thought I knew the cold being from Minnesota, but I learned so much more, like how to layer; even how different fibers work. It was a totally different level of training.”
More than the physical challenge, McGill walked away from Norway with new relationships that continue to show up in surprising ways.
“I did the Norwegian Ruck [March] in Arden Hills,” said McGill. “I started pointing people out, ‘I went with him, her, him…’ it was incredible how many people I knew. Even [while supporting the] Best Warrior Competition, I ran into people from NOREX.”
For McGill, these relationships are central to his service. He credits noncommissioned officers above him for helping him grow. Though still early in his career, McGill is already starting to think like them.
“To me, the ‘Future Faces of the Force’ are those leaders, at any rank, who others look up to,” he said. “It’s about setting an example that others want to follow.”
McGill believes that discipline and consistency are the core to success.
“Consistency over time takes discipline,” he asked. “Staying involved, being a lifelong learner, that’s what’s worked for me.”
It is advice he often shares with friends considering joining the military.
McGill’s voice softens when he speaks about his fiancée, Brooke, who he will marry at the end of the month at the same church he grew up attending.
“I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without her,” he said. “She supports me emotionally, personally, and academically. She is the one pushing me to be the best version of myself.”
Story by Staff Sgt. Mahsima Alkamooneh Minnesota National Guard
