Specialist (SPC) Joseph Livesay, United States Army, is a member of Task Force (TF) 2-153, currently stationed at South Camp in the Sinai, Egypt. TF 2-153 is the first pure National Guard unit to ever take over the Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO) mission in the Sinai desert.

Livesay, age 21, graduated from McCroy High School in 1998. He was working for Arkansas Tank Service as a water tower painting specialist, when he was called to be part of TF 2-153. SPC Livesay lives in Searcy with his wife Georgette.

Livesay serves as a team leader while in the MFO. He is responsible for his teams' situational readiness at all times, which is an invaluable asset to TF 2-153rd's mission success. He is also participating in the Force Skills competition, which places different military personnel from the participating countries here in the MFO against each other in a contest of mental strength and physical endurance. Livesay's experience provides him with the work ethic and team skills, which he uses in his daily work on his many different painting projects.

"I am grateful to be able to serve my country," Livesay said. "It is good to know that we are needed by the regular army for its overall mission success."

Livesay has been in the Arkansas National Guard for four years. He previously deployed to Kuwait in 1999 with the Guard.