SANFORD — Capt. Adam Cote, a Sanford native who has previously served tours of duty in Bosnia and Iraq, has been awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan.

Cote, who is currently serving with the Maine Army National Guard 133rd Engineer Battalion in Bagram, Afghanistan, deployed to the country in September and is due to return home in the next couple of weeks.

During his first four months of deployment, Cote served as company commander for the Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 133rd Engineer Battalion. For the final five months, Cote was chosen to be the company commander of the 150th Engineer company of about 150 soldiers.

“I hand-picked Capt. Cote to lead the 150th because of his leadership skills and his ability to get things done,” said Lt. Col. Dean Preston, commander of the 133rd Engineer Battalion, in a statement issued by the 133rd. “He had an enormous amount of responsibility throughout our time here in Afghanistan, yet he rose to the challenge and performed incredibly well. He is truly deserving of this very prestigious award.”

The 150th Engineer Company completed more than 75 missions throughout eastern Afghanistan, primarily by deconstructing U.S. and NATO allied forward operating bases as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to a prepared statement from the 133rd.

Cote, in an email from Afghanistan, said that means his company has been dismantling bases and helping both U.S. and coalition forces in the drawdown.

“Some bases are turned over to the Afghans and others are simply shut down completely,” said Cote. “It has been a lot of work. Long, hot days in the sun.”

The captain, a husband and father of five, said he is pleased to receive the bronze star.

“It is a great honor to receive the Bronze Star Medal, but it has been a far greater honor to work with so many professional and high quality individuals,” Cote said. “I’m very proud of the work our soldiers were able to accomplish here under very difficult conditions.”

The Journal Tribune asked Cote to write a bit about his deployment, the challenges he faced while overseas and what’s next, when he gets home. Here’s what he had to say:

“This has been by far the hardest of my three deployments, because this time I have young kids at home,” he wrote. “Our kids range in ages from 2 to 9, so I basically missed a year of holidays, sports, school concerts and other events in their lives. So far and away, the biggest thing I’ve missed is my family. Next on the list would be Maine. The landscape in Afghanistan is, at times, beautiful, with the Hindu Kush mountain range and other areas, but it really pales in comparison to Maine. There are very few trees, and the soil here is not very arable. It’s quite dusty and very windy. We are really blessed in Maine to have such an abundance of natural resources.

“It will also be nice to have my freedom back,” he continued. “The security situation here is always an issue, and therefore, just being able to go for a drive around town is something that I have greatly missed being able to do.

“The challenges here in Afghanistan are quite different than what I saw in both Bosnia and Iraq,” Cote wrote. “Here, the society is very tribal and decentralized at the local level. There really is not a history of a strong central government. We are in the midst now of an election, and the major challenge for whomever wins will be to convince the people of Afghanistan that they can have a strong central government that is free of corruption and that takes the national interest into account.

“As for what is next for me, I really don’t know. I plan to spend the month of July at home with my family, catching up on what I’ve missed in the past year. I’ve considered getting involved again in politics, but I don’t have any immediate plans to do so,” he wrote.

Cote graduated from Sanford High School in 1991, from Colby College in 1995 and is a 2001 graduate of the University of Maine School of Law. He is co-founder and chief executive officer of Thermal Energy Storage of Maine, a company that promotes electric thermal storage and off-peak heating and cooling systems.

Cote worked as renewable energy attorney at Pierce Atwood in Portland for a number of years. In 2008, he ran for U.S. Congress, placing second in a six-way primary. Last fall, Cote was honored by the Obama administration as a “Champion of Change,” as a veteran advancing clean energy and climate security. He was unable to attend the White House reception due to his deployment to Afghanistan.

He lives in Springvale with his wife, Paulina, and their children Ana, Audrey, Mia, Adam Jr. and Michael.

The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces for bravery, acts of merit or meritorious service in a combat zone.

The 133rd Engineer Battalion will return to the U.S. in the next couple weeks after a nine-month deployment.

“I am eager to return to Maine and spend some much-needed time with my family. This has been a long year for all of us. I would especially like to thank all my friends and family back home who have helped Paulina and the kids get through this past year,” Cote said. “I can’t wait to get home!”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].