POLICEMAN OFF TO AFGHANISTAN

Come January, Maggie Reif's eyes and ears will be glued to the television, radio and Internet reports, hoping for news -- hopefully, nothing but good news -- concerning the American military presence in war-torn Afghanistan for 12 consecutive months.

So, too, will the attention of her son and the five children of her police officer husband, Steve, for their father -- and 9-year-old Andrew's step dad -- may frequently be in harm's way, serving as a sergeant with the Illinois Army Air Guard as one of three door gunners on a CH-47 double-rotor Chinook helicopter in the skies over Afghanistan.

"I always just wanted to serve my country," said Kneifel, 39, in a recent interview, just before leaving Nov. 12 as part of an 80-member Peoria-based 238th General Support Aviation battalion and undergoing two months of intensive combat training in Fort Sill, Okla., before deploying for a year in the Middle East.

"I've got a little fear, a little bit of anxiety," he said, revealing he will be home for Christmas before deploying overseas. "I also know there's nothing I can do about it. This is the real thing. I'm going overseas for 12 months whether I like it or not."

Other than serving as air support for the 101st Airborne Division, he admits he doesn't really know where he will be geographically and can only guess.
Beyond that, it's probably best he doesn't know -- or say, for his own safety and security.

"I have an idea about some of our missions; we'll be doing a lot of troop transports and flying seven hours a day ... but that's about it," he revealed, surmising they might often find themselves near the country's eastern border with Pakistan -- where much fighting is taking place. "I'm going to be right in the middle of it."

Since, 2001, the 15-year municipal patrolman -- 12-plus with the La Grange Police Department -- has been in the reserves. And he has been in and out of the service since his teens.

He was recognized at an Oct. 27 Town Meeting by Village President Liz Asperger, three days before colleagues threw a farewell party for him and members of the American Legion Coulter Post 1941 presented him with a blue star flag and four days before family and friends joined him in a goodbye party thrown by the owners of La Perla & Thipi Thai.

He was recently feted by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for his efforts in helping prevent crimes to seniors and was cited in July of 2005 for dedication and exemplary service for helping out in a multijurisdictional drug investigation that led to many arrests.
In 1990, he served in the first round of fighting with Iraq on active duty during Operation Desert Storm -- where he was a mechanic fixing jet engines on the RC-135 refueler in Saudi Arabia.

More than a decade later, for six months in 2001, he trained in biological and chemical
warfare to prepare for deployment in Operation Desert Shield.

But, he recalled, he was never called up.

Then came the call to action -- just a few months back.
"I was told (in September) and I had a feeling it was going to happen," he said, shortly before taking a leave of absence from the force. "I figure it's better Afghanistan than Iraq. I think we're done in Iraq, but there's still work to be done where I'm going."

Kneifel, a squad leader hired by La Grange in January of 1997 and appointed elderly service officer in February of 2007 -- serving as point man for senior outreach through a grant-funded initiative called Aging Well -- has been in the military for 13 years.

He entered on a delayed enlistment in 1986, a year before he graduating from Evanston High School.

"After high school, I began training," he said, noting he attended basic and technical training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

In the beginning of 1992, he went on active Army duty after going through basic and advanced infantry training at Fort Benning, Ga. His first tour of duty was in Fort Campbell, Ky., where he served for two years before a long break in service.
He re-enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 2000 and has been in the reserves one weekend a month ever since.

His first assignment was with the Illinois Air National Guard Reserves, where he actively served for one weekend a month and three weeks in the summer for five years stationed right outside O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

Kneifel got married to his first wife in 1990 and had five children together.

While still married in early 1994, he started his law enforcement career as a patrol officer in Bowling Green, Ky., after getting out of the service the first time around.

His inspiration for joining the military was, in part, due to his stepfather's own background. A fellow officer -- Miles Odom -- was also deployed to Iraq a few years ago.
"My step dad was in the service and he talked about it a lot," he said, noting his stepfather was an Army and Reserves officer who served during Vietnam.

He realizes the Afghanistan and Iraq conflict is a different war than his stepfather fought. Still, he feels safer than one might imagine, given the constant news of American and allied attacks and casualties abroad.

"I've trained on helicopters and it's not too often that one goes down," he said, "but when it does, it really does (hit) home. It's tough to see my (military) brothers go down like that."

"But ..." added Kneifel, ever the polite person one can only imagine he has taught his children to be: "things can happen."

After all. he said, even the streets of La Grange can be dangerous -- referring to a shootout outside of Harris Bank south of 47th Street a few years ago in which an armed robber led police on a multijurisdictional chase and killed himself after breaking into a home and killing a family dog during an all-night standoff six towns away in Villa Park.
His said his children are old enough to understand potential consequences of his departure, his wife was a bit upset upon hearing the news and his stepson was confused.

"It was a little hard for him to understand and it's going to be a little tough when I'm away ... but hopefully, it's going to go quick," he said. "What will help this time is I'll have my cell phone and laptop, so we'll be emailing a lot, and I'll have my camera taking pictures and sending them over and using my webcam and voice over the Internet."

Still, he says he looks forward to serving his country and coming home -- quickly.

"I just want to get it going," he said. "I'll be working a lot of hours so the time (will go) by quick. It's going to be hard but we'll all get through it."

Senior citizens at the Southwest Suburban Center on Aging on Harris Avenue in downtown La Grange will undoubtedly miss his daily presence and frequent friendly visits, as will those in churches and civic organizations and even private residences around town.
For nearly two years, "Officer Steve" has been fulfilling a goal he said he realized was an unmet need on the department before he became an ESO and one that was only being addressed on a part-time basis before him by his close colleague, Detective Dave Rohlicek, who has since trained Kneifel.

Every day, he helps out seniors with any issue they face, whether it be handicapped access or Medicare dilemmas, educating them about protection from home repair scam artists or identity thieves, or something as simple as conducting well-being checks or helping them figure something out.

"I go to a lot of senior meetings," said Kneifel, who earned his ESO certification through the Illinois Attorney General's Office in Springfield. "I really enjoy helping the seniors out. It's just a great feeling."

He said Police Chief Michael Holub -- also a U.S. Army veteran who served as an overnight guard during the Vietnam era in Washington, D.C. -- has been most accommodating about his partial pay with benefits leave. And, most seniors he's told about his deployment have been "pretty supportive," he said, adding, "They're going to pray for me."

However, he said he will not only miss not his wife and children and senior pals but the whole town.
"It's been going great and I love it here; I really do," he said. "It's such a close-knit community and I'm so glad that while we're growing we're still able to keep control of the crime rate."