Like father, like daughter
Army careers run in the family
RADCLIFF
Lyndsey Thompson didn’t intend on a lifelong military career. But like father, like daughter.
Lyndsey is an active-duty lieutenant colonel serving as the battalion commander of U.S. Army Mission Support Battalion in Fort Knox. Her father, Mark Thompson, a Nolin RECC consumer-member, is a retired U.S. Army master sergeant who began and ended his military career in Fort Knox.
Lyndsey, a self-described “army brat,” moved multiple times during her childhood before her parents decided to settle down in Radcliff, when Lyndsey turned 14. She graduated from Fort Knox High School in 2000 and attended Western Kentucky University on an academic scholarship.
Mark thought his six-foot-three basketball player daughter was bound for the WNBA. But shortly after 9/11, Lyndsey received a letter in the mail about a two-year scholarship through the ROTC.
The Thompson family–Mark Desmond, Lyndsey, Mark and Ellen–at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida, following Lyndsey Thompson’s promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2021.
Lyndsey reflected on her upbringing and realized she wanted to pursue a military path. Her parents’ initial reaction was total shock.
“It kind of rocked my world,” Mark says. “But Lyndsey said ‘Dad, if it was good enough for you and provided for our family, why isn’t it good enough for me?’”
Lyndsey’s first hurdle was the physical fitness test, specifically the running portion. She struggled initially, but her dad was there every step of the way.
“My dad poured everything into getting me ready,” Lyndsey says. “He was 100% in. It was an opportunity for us to share in something.”
When Mark had a work obligation and was unable to run with Lyndsey during her test, he called on a friend who was a drill sergeant. Not only did the friend show up, he brought his whole company to run with her.
Major Thompson serves as Commander of Troops during the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion Change of Command at Camp Zama, Japan, in 2018. Photos: Thompson family
Lyndsey’s military career has taken her across the U.S. and through two tours overseas. During a previous station in Fort Knox, Lyndsey remembers running into her mom at the commissary store on base. The encounter left Lyndsey in tears.
“I cried in the car because of how special that was,” she says. “You spend so much time away, getting to come home is an event. I knew how lucky I was to come full circle and be back here.”
Returning to Radcliff meant a homecoming to her parents and being closer to her brother, Mark Desmond, and her nephew, Mark Ethan. Lyndsey will be able to retire from the military in 2027 and is once again following in her father’s footsteps. Just like him, she wants to end her career where it started—in Radcliff.
KATIE SALTZ is an eastern Kentucky native transplanted to North Carolina. She brought her accent with her.
