Patrick Thibeault was raised as an Army brat. He lived in Germany; Fort Devens, Massachusetts; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and his father was stationed in Seoul, South Korea, where he attended Seoul American High School and graduated in 1989. Upon graduation from high school, Patrick enlisted in the Army, becoming a paratrooper medic. The first unit that he was assigned to was 3rd Battalion / 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Patrick deployed to Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm back in 1990. During his tenure with the 160th, Patrick had the opportunity to grow both as a soldier and as a medic. He attended SERE school (survival training), went to Army enlisted flight medic school at Fort Rucker, and attended primary leadership training at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He deployed both stateside and overseas with the 160th and spent some time on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. During his time with the 160th, he was on both enlisted crewmember flight status and parachute status.
He then joined the Kentucky Army National Guard. Patrick deployed twice to Ecuador during his time with the Kentucky Army National Guard. He continued to grow in the medical field and nursing field and started nursing school at Eastern Kentucky University. Patrick’s first job as a nurse was as a registered nurse at the Veterans Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Patrick transferred to the Indiana Army National Guard, where in 2000, his entire brigade travelled to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to participate in the combat simulations at the Joint Readiness Training Center, or JRTC.
He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in nursing in May 2003 from Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2004, he deployed with his unit, the 76th Infantry Brigade, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His unit was part of Task Force Phoenix. This task force trained the conventional Afghan Army and had soldiers embedded into these Afghanistan units both during training and combat operations. Patrick worked briefly as a liaison for Task Force Phoenix at Bagram Airbase before going back out into the field.
Patrick started on his master’s degree to become a Family Nurse Practitioner upon returning from combat in 2005. He graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in December, 2008. Patrick then transferred to the 138th Field Artillery Brigade, part of the Kentucky Army National Guard, where he remained till he retired in January, 2011.
Patrick currently works part time in a medical intensive care unit and full time in an urgent and primary care clinic as a nurse practitioner. His hobbies include Corvettes, working out, Star Trek, and reading medical books. He is married to his wife Connie. They have a dog named Rocco and two cats named Savannah and Georgia. He named one of his cats after the beautiful city of Savannah, and the other cat after the state of Georgia, when he was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield.
His awards and decorations include the Combat Medical Badge, second award from both Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom, the Meritorious Service Medical from Afghanistan, and the Air Medal from Desert Storm. Patrick has also earned the Expert Field Medical Badge and the enlisted crewmember aviation wings.