COOK- When Master Gunnery Sgt. Kraig Aho retired from the U.S. Marine Corps on June 12, it brought to a close a military career that spanned nearly four decades, beginning with the Navy Reserve and ending at the highest enlisted technical rank in the Marine Corps.
By the time he retired from the Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School at Twentynine Palms, Calif., Aho was the oldest enlisted Marine on active duty. His retirement came not by choice, but because he had reached the military’s mandatory 30 years of active service.
“It was mandatory retirement at 55, but they changed the rules a few years back because they were losing too many senior guys,” Aho said. “So I was able to stay and get my 30 years instead of being forced to retire early. But I would have stayed in.”
Born in St. Paul in 1970, Aho moved to Cook with his parents, Keith and Carol Aho, when Keith returned to his hometown and the family farm. The couple went on to establish Homestead Mills, a Cook business that has served the community for more than four decades.
Although his father had served in the Marine Corps Reserve, that wasn’t what led Aho into military service.
“That was more of an independent decision on my part,” he said.
A 1988 graduate of Cook High School, Aho already had an interest in technology, placing fourth in the state Business Professionals of America competition in Data Specialist before enlisting in the Navy Reserve later that summer.
Assigned to the Navy Seabees as an equipment operator, Aho operated bulldozers, trucks, forklifts, and other heavy construction equipment. Activated for service with Naval Construction Battalion 7, he deployed through Okinawa to Bahrain in support of Operation Desert Shield, helping prepare the infrastructure that supported the military buildup and paved the way for Operation Desert Storm.
After returning to Minnesota, Aho worked a variety of jobs, including with his parents at Homestead Mills, before deciding to return to military service in 1998, this time joining the Marine Corps.
“I wanted to do something more technical,” he said. “I liked mechanics, but I also liked puzzles.”
In communications electronics, Aho found exactly that.
Over the next 28 years, Aho’s Marine Corps career took him to assignments in Okinawa, Afghanistan and at several Southern California installations before ending at the Communications-Electronics School at Twentynine Palms.
Along the way, he advanced from communications electronics technician into increasingly responsible leadership positions, ultimately overseeing the maintenance and operation of communications systems supporting Marine bases and operational units.
Some of his titles, including Telephone Section Chief and Base Telephone Chief, don’t fully describe the work.
“I was in charge of the maintenance of the equipment,” Aho said. “I wasn’t the telephone operator. I was the maintenance manager.”
One of Aho’s specialties was maintaining telephone switching systems, the equipment that routed communications throughout a military installation. As those room-sized analog systems gave way to digital technology, his responsibilities expanded to include radios, satellite systems, computers and other communications electronics.
“Switching is the base of all electronics,” he said. “That’s what a computer is, basically millions and millions of little micro switches.”
What once occupied an entire room eventually fit on a computer chip no larger than a fingernail, he said, but the underlying principles remained the same.
He sought out additional technical schools, stayed current with rapidly changing technology, and enjoyed passing that knowledge on to younger Marines. As his responsibilities grew, so did his role as a mentor, helping develop both the technical skills and maintenance mindset of the Marines who worked under him.
His final assignment as Operations Chief at the Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School at Twentynine Palms took him in a different direction.
As a school administrator, Aho found himself working more closely with Marines, often mentoring those who were struggling to succeed.
“I was kind of the guy they would give the troubled guys to straighten out,” he said. “I was actually able to straighten out about half of them. That was probably the most powerful thing I’ve done in the Marine Corps.”
The assignment also brought a personal benefit. After years of serving at different Southern California installations while he and his wife, Janet, often spent much of the week apart, the Twentynine Palms assignment finally allowed them to settle into something closer to a normal married life.
“She was a trooper,” Aho said.
Aho said he was pleased with the retirement ceremony, which gave his family, including his mother, Carol, an opportunity to experience a full Marine Corps ceremony for the first time.
“It was wonderful,” he said. “The ceremony was beautiful. They did a real good job.”
He said he especially appreciated that the Marines continue to place a strong emphasis on tradition.
“That’s one thing I do like still about the Marines, is they do still have their pageantry and their ceremonies, which I think is important,” he said.
Carol was among the family members who traveled to California for the ceremony. She said the day was both proud and emotional, made more poignant by the absence of Keith, who died last year.
Although retired from the Corps, Aho doesn’t expect to stay retired for long.
“I need my puzzles,” he said with a laugh, adding that he expects to look for maintenance or technician work with a local company.
During his career, Aho received the Meritorious Service Medal, four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, among numerous other military decorations.
Yet the recognition that appears to have meant the most wasn’t a medal or ribbon.
Aho instead recalled something his last commanding officer told him that made a very personal impact.
“When he needs to explain what a Marine is,” Aho said, “he uses me as the example.”