Veteran Spotlight: Ben Fugate

At 18 years old, Ben Fugate joined the United States Army for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it was the opportunity to serve his country that led to him joining in the first place.

The opportunity the Army gave to grow and the fact that service ran in his family were other reasons that he chose to join.

“My father was in the international guard,” Fugate said. “I’m originally from Knox and I was looking for more opportunities. Knox is a small town and it offers only so many areas of work.”

After finishing high school, Fugate shipped off to Fort Hood where he served in the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment as Calvary Trooper specializing in tanks. When he turned 21, he was sent to Iraq.

“I was in Iraq from October 2007 until January 2009,” he said. “I saw a lot. Three in my platoon died and 27 in my infantry during that time.”

While in Iraq, he worked with all areas of weaponry and defense. When he started his deployment in Iraq, he was not even 21. He celebrated his 21st birthday there.

“I was right below the rank of ranger,” Fugate said. “We were the people that would destroy things and then get out of there. We worked with all areas, including Apache helicopters and tanks.”

Fugate was also tasked with scanning individual profiles. The Army would scan the eyes of suspected and prospective terrorists matching them with known terrorists they were searching for.

“While I was in Iraq, my overall job was to help the civilians and extract terrorists,” Fugate said. “We caught more than 25 terrorists.”

Returning stateside after about a year and a half in Iraq, Fugate went to Fort Knox to teach. He taught and trained soldiers on tanks and arms.

From 2011-2012, he served in the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment (2-9 infantry) in South Korea, where he was stationed right on the border that separated it from its communist neighbor North Korea.

“My infantry and I were essentially guarding the border between North Korea and South Korea,” he said.

In 2012, Fugate got out of the Army and joined the Indiana National Guard. One of the most significant disasters he worked in was the 2014 Polar Vortex.

“We were pulling people off of I-35,” he said. “It was quite a catastrophic freeze and storm.”

Fugate has had multiple surgeries and a total hip replacement, all related to the toll his service took on his body. The moments that he experienced while serving will shape and form him, including a moment when he witnessed a tank that he was supposed to be on get destroyed and kill multiple men.

“Men I knew were on that tank,” he said. “I’ll never forget it. I feel lucky to be alive, and I never take it for granted.”

Fugate is a fighter for our country. He is also a fighter for his local community.