Thomas Ornberg is Miller County's new veterans services officer.
Ornberg replaces Ray Harmon, who served as the county's VSO for 10 years.
Ornberg, himself a U.S. Air Force veteran, served for 24 years after joining the service in 1994 at age 19.
While in the Air Force, Ornberg served primarily in aircraft refueling and was stationed overseas in such areas as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Guam.
"In the Middle East, we had our share of sandstorms," he said.
Additionally, Ornberg's stateside assignments include Little Rock Air Force Base and Andrews Air Force Base.
Ornberg was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
"At that time, we didn't know if we were in for more terrorist attacks or not," he said. "We stayed on alert for several days."
Besides refueling and working with Air Force fighter, bomber, transport and rescue aircraft, Ornberg added that he also has extensive experience refueling U.S. Navy, Marine and Army combat, transport and rescue aircraft, including helicopters.
Ornberg retired from military service on March 31, 2018 as a master sergeant while stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
He said having several of his wife's family members living in places like Queen City, Texas, and other scattered areas throughout the Texarkana region is one of the main reasons he sought a job locally.
Ornberg said veterans needing service can call Tuesdays and Thursdays each week to set up appointments.
Miller County's new veteran service office number is 1- 870-330-9847 or 1-870-330-9936.
Veterans can also walk-in to the office from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.