MORAG, Poland — A 1992 Fairhope High School graduate is serving in the Army training Polish officers on the Patriot Missile system in Morag, Poland with about 100 other U.S. Army servicemembers this past month.

Cpl. Charles H. Burch, 34, an Automated Logistics Specialist with U.S. Army Europe's Service Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment has spent the last month as part of a rotational training program designed to familiarize Polish forces on the U.S. air defense system.

“In my job, it’s a learning process as far as what to bring and how to support training on the Patriot in different environments,” said Burch, whose duties include managing the supply of repair parts for the Patriot system. “We take what we learn from this exercise and it makes us more readily deployable for the next time.”

Burch, an eight-year Army veteran, has previously been deployed to Kuwait in 2003. He was part of the first U.S. Army unit to deploy to Poland for the 30-day training rotation. This is the first time the U.S. missile system has come to Poland.

The training, which started in May, is currently scheduled to occur every three months through 2012. The program is designed to help the Poles improve their air defense capabilities, develop their skills, and those of the U.S. Patriot crew members in addition to strengthening the strong strategic U.S. partnership with the Polish allies.