Via FaceTime from Qatar, Lee’s Summit Guardsman becomes fire captain

The Lee’s Summit Fire Department didn’t let 7,500 miles stand in the way of moving Ben Hicks up the ranks on Saturday.

Via the video linkup tool Facetime, Hicks received his promotion from paramedic/specialist to captain while serving in Qatar with the Missouri National Guard.

A big screen and laptops set up at Lee’s Summit City Hall allowed family members, friends and colleagues to watch him take the oath from Chief Rick Poeschl in real time.

Hicks’ family accepted the captain’s new red helmet on his behalf.

The department said in a press release that Hicks, an employee since 2004, had been testing for the captain’s position before being deployed with the Guard’s 138th Infantry Division as a 1st Lieutenant. Hicks also serves as a tactical medic with the Lee’s Summit Police Department’s Emergency Services Squad.

He will return to Lee’s Summit in early 2018, the department said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Via FaceTime from Qatar, Lee’s Summit Guardsman becomes fire captain."