Randy Ridings:  

I left Joplin right after high school, went off to do some military training, then attended and graduated from kemper Military College, in Boonville, MO. This also got me my commission as a Second Lieutenant, but I still had to finish my college before I could go on active duty, which I did, earning a BS in Biology from the Univ. of Tennessee. After a brief haitus working in the hazardous waste engineering field in Houston, I went on active duty in 1988. I was "branched" in the Signal Corp in the Army, which means I was to be a communicaitons offficer. I trained for 6 months in Fort Gordon, GA before my first duty assignment in Camp Casey, Korea as a Battalion Signal Officer for a Field Artillery Battalion for a year. I returned to the U.S. to be stationed at Ft. Benning, GA for the next 4 years, also in Battalion Signal Officer positions and serving in Desert Storn/Desert Shield during this time where I was also promoted to Captain. I then attended my Advance Signal Officers course, another lovely 6 month in Ft Gordon, GA, before getting a position as a Company Commander running a large satellite communications complex at Ft. Meade, MD for two years. Then off to my favorite assignment of my career, with my new wife, Peggy, two years working in NATO at Naples, Italy. I got to travel all over Europe, including a 6 month tour in Sarejevo, rebuilding that country's war torn infrastructure. I was also promoted to Major while in Italy. I returned to the U.S. to my last assignment, two years at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuqueque, NM, where I also got divorced. I was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma while in NM and was medically retire...Expand for more