Travis served in Korea, Saudi Arabia
- This photograph of Brad Travis was taken around 1992 when he was Specialist (E-4). He left the service as Sergeant E-5. CONTRIBUTED
- 11-23 l_VeteranOfTheWeekBradTravisFAMILY.JPG: The Travis family: Drake, Brad, Brenda and Ross. CONTRIBUTED
MADISON – When he was 17 years old, Brad Travis joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1988.
In Split Option Training at Fort Dix, N.J., he completed Basic Training during summer of his junior year in high school and entered Advanced Individual Training (AIT) after graduation.
Leaving the service after eight years, Travis held rank as Sergeant E-5.
“I enlisted as a cook, mostly because it was a bonus unit and in my hometown of Arkansas City, Kan.” close to weekend drill, Travis said. His home unit was 99th Field Service Company in Arkansas City.
Travis attended Non-Commissioned Officer School in Fort Chaffee, Ark. “I spent time at Fort Polk, La. and Camp Humphries in Korea. Our mobilization site when we deployed for Desert Shield/Storm was Fort Sill, Okla.,” he said.
“I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for most of the war during Desert Storm in 1011th S&S Company from Independence, Kan.,” Travis said. He managed a map issue facility. “Landsat imagery maps were pretty much the map version of Google Earth in those days.”
After a one-year deployment, Travis returned home and attended the University of Kansas to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science. Travis attended petroleum and water purification training and completed his service in 1996.
He now works as chief meteorologist at WAFF Channel 48.
He and wife Brenda moved here in December 1996, choosing Huntsville’s television market over Binghamton, N.Y. “We saw it as a great place to live and eventually raise a family,” Brad said.
After living in Monrovia, they moved to Madison in 2011 for a larger house and proximity to both of their jobs. Brenda Travis teaches at Decatur High School.
Their son Ross is a sophomore at James Clemens High School and plays junior varsity baseball. Their son Drake is a Liberty Middle School seventh-grader.
In spare time, Brad enjoys household projects, landscaping and watching college basketball and football. He likes classic muscle cars and grilling outdoors any time of year. He often volunteers at local schools to discuss weather safety.
“I hope to spend more time golfing. I’ve been saying that for over 10 years,” Brad said.
