News Summary

FRANKLIN — For the past year, Col. Gordon Ellis has endured up to 128-degree weather managing a camp of about 6,000 people in Kuwait.

But next month, he'll be returning to the frigid conditions of a southern Ohio winter in his post as chief of the Franklin Division of Police.

Ellis will be donning his police badge once again New Year's Day, after serving a year as commander of Camp Arifjan Zone 6 in Kuwait with the 37th Infantry Brigade.

"My first order of business is just to reacquaint myself with the operations of the department," Ellis said, noting that sorting through his mail alone might take up an entire day's work.

Ellis returned to the United States in September, and is currently in Columbus completing his military assignment. He also will soon travel to Fort Hood in Texas.

"It was really different when I first got back," he said.

Ellis flew back on an aircraft with several hundred soldiers who had been in the dessert terrain of Kuwait, where temperatures soar above 100 degrees and vegetation is sparse.

The plane landed in Germany on a rainy day, and the soldiers stood in the dreary downfall.

"We hadn't felt rain in months," Ellis said. "It was an odd feeling to actually feel rain again."

Ellis said he has been working with Capt. Ross Coulton, who has been managing the department in his absence, and the two have been dealing with planning for the new year.

Now back on American soil, Ellis said it is good to be home.

"I truly appreciate everything we have," he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or mengle@coxohio.com.