FRANKFORT, KY -A Kentucky State Police Trooper on active military duty with the Kentucky National Guard in Iraq sustained severe injuries yesterday when the vehicle he was riding in struck a land mine, overturned and caught fire.

Trooper Ricky M. Brooks, 25, of Center City in Metcalfe County, received second and third degree burns to his face, head and hands. He also sustained a head injury that required treatment.

Brooks is presently at a hospital in Germany. He will be moved to a burn unit in San Antonio, Tex. on Sunday.

A June 2004 graduate of the Kentucky State Police Academy, Brooks was assigned to KSP Post 15 in Columbia prior to his military deployment. He is married and has two children ages five and three.

“The Kentucky State Police is a very close organization,” said KSP Commissioner Mark Miller. “It affects all of us greatly when one of our own is injured in the line of duty. I ask everyone to keep Trooper Brooks and his family in their thoughts and pray for his full recovery.”

Brooks is one of 27 KSP troopers currently on active military service.

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