HOULTON, Maine — First Sgt. Matthew K. Quint of Houlton, of the Maine Army National Guard 185th Engineer Support Company, has returned home to join the Houlton Police Department as a permanent full-time officer.
He has served on both full- and part-time status at the HPD since 1998.
A 1983 graduate of Houlton High School, Officer Quint enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1982 and graduated from training at Parris Island, S.C. in 1983. He was assigned as supply warehouseman to Camp Lejeune, N.C., and in 1985 joined the 3rd Force Service Support Group at Camp Kinser in Okinawa, Japan, serving two three-month tours in South Korea.
From 1987-89, at Camp Lejeune, he was deployed for sea service with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Mediterranean Sea, serving a total of one year and 10 days at sea. He participated in amphibious operations in Kenya, Italy, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Somalia, France and Sardinia.
From there he served in Barstow, Calif., in logistics augmentation, and in 1992 was assigned to Cherry Point, N.C. He moved in 1994 to the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island, where he served as a drill instructor and combat water survival instructor until his 1997 discharge from the Marines.
In June 1997, Quint joined B Battery of the 152nd Field Artillery, Maine Army National Guard, where he served as a howitzer section chief and recon sergeant. He served a short time as B Battery’s supply sergeant in 2003, and then volunteered to deploy with the 152nd Field Artillery Forward and served at Abu Ghraib prison. In February 2005 he returned to be the readiness NCO of B Battery, and in 2007 was assigned as the readiness NCO of the new 185th Engineer Support Company in Caribou.
He assumed the duties of first sergeant of the 185th from June 2011-October 2014.
Quint’s education has included graduation from the Marine NCO Academy, 1987; Marine Drill Instructor School and Marine Combat Water Survival Instructor School, 1994;13B Cannon Crewmember School and Maine Criminal Justice Academy as a certified law enforcement officer, 1998; Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, 2001; and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course, 2003.
He has been awarded many badges, commendations and medals for his distinguished military service, some of which include a Meritorious Service Medal, various achievement and good conduct awards, and meritorious unit commendations, as well as medals for service in the global war on terrorism.
Officer Quint is the son of Wayne and Lorraine Quint of Houlton. He and his wife, Cheryl, were married in 1989, and have two sons, Ethan and Zachary. Ethan is currently on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Zachary is a sophomore at Houlton High School.
