For more than three decades Lt. Col. Jeff Ponkratz of Punta Gorda Isles served as an Army Reservist in the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion based in Green Bay, Wis. His job in the military was one of rebuilding and preserving what was left of the half dozen war-torn countries he served in during the U.S.’s various military engagements beginning in 1990 in Iraq with “Operation Desert Storm.” When he wasn’t soldering the 55-year-old was a middle-school teacher in Green Bay. He taught American Government, History and Economics. In 2007 Ponkratz was named “Distinguished Social Studies Teacher of the Year” in…![]()
