2013-08-29 Special Meeting of the Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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that also included competing for and securing a nomination from then Senator Christopher Dodd - the longest tenured Senator in Connecticut's history. I graduated from West Point on the Commandant's List - a designation for only those Cadets who excel academically, physically, and militarily. Given my class rank, I had the opportunity to join the relatively small and select field of Army Finance and the coveted duty station of Schofield Barracks, HI. Just as a side note, it's at Schofield Barracks as a young Lieutenant that I met Aileen, also a Lieutenant who obtained her commission from ROTC at Arizona State after graduating from Waiakea High School. I vividly remember the first time I met her and, to my dismay, how disinterested she was in me. I spent the better part of the next year or so trying to get her attention and convincing her to play tennis with me, a sport that I had little to no real experience in. Luckily for me, she eventually changed her mind and decided I was an alright guy worthy of introducing to her family. September 11th changed the lives of many Americans. Among other things, it contributed to my duty station change to Fort Bragg, NC - home of the Airborne and Special Operations and probably the most involved military installation in terms of the war on terror. During my service there, I was selected out of numerous other company grade officers by higher command to be the first Finance Officer to deploy a team in preparation for the invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom). In early January 2003, I boarded a large military transport plane in command of a detachment of personnel, vehicles, and equipment and initially headed to Kuwait. Over the next 8-9 months, my team and I helped establish a dispersing network of approximately one hundred million U.S. dollars in Kuwait and Iraq to support regular and special military operations, including numerous rebuilding efforts after the initial invasion of Iraq. To date that was the most uncertain and difficult task I've ever been responsible for. Looking back, it's hard to believe I was 27 years old at the time. More importantly, I thank God that those under my charge came