Rich Sheppard:  

Life Joined the Army in 1973, but never really graduated with the class in 1974. After joining, I became a Special Forces "Green Beret". I served until 1977, then got out and went to college on the GI Bill. Received a BA from Univ of South Florida in Tampa, at the same time I was commissioned a 2LT in the US Army and returned to active duty. I went to flight school at Ft Rucker, AL and then had a long career flying UH-60 Blackhawks. I served in combat in Grenada, Panama and Iraq. I have traveled to 55 countries, skydived, scuba dived, and climbed Mt Aconcagua, in Argentina (one of the 7 summits). In 1991, the Army sent me to the University of Florida in Gainesville to get my Masters Degree. In 2000, I came back to Gainesville to Command the ROTC unit. I was deployed for 4 months to Baghdad in 2003 to serve with my former Special Operations unit, the 160th SOAR. I recently retired here in Gainesville after 30 years in the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. I am married to a lovely bride from North Carolina and have t...Expand for more