David Berkowitz:
CLASS OF 1988
El Camino High SchoolClass of 1988
Sacramento, CA
American River CollegeClass of 1991
Sacramento, CA
David's Story
Life
Hello to all my fellow '88 Classmates.
For those of you who haven't seen or heard from me in years past, I am on Active Duty in the US Army as an Intelligence Analyst, and I have been in for more than 18 years. At present I am a Sergeant First Class and I am living and working at Fort Richardson, Alaska. While I was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado I have deployed twice to Iraq, once in '06 & again in '07. I graduated from the Basic Non-Commissioned Officer's Course in Arizona back in '05. I then departed from Germany to head back stateside (yeah!!). I returned from a Contingency Operation in Iraq after nearly 12 months in Dec '04. Prior to that deployment I supported a Peacekeeping Operation in the Balkans for the 3rd time back in '02. For the previous Balkans deployments refer to my assignments. Prior to going into the Intelligence field I was a Printer/Photo & Layout Specialist. I've made everything from maps to leaflets, booklets, posters, and handbills. I'm school trained & qualified to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. Some of the most memorable jumps I've been part of were out of Blackhawk helicopters, & that's a thrill like no other. I've done quite a bit since I've been in, from printing to plane jumping and now analyzing. I am married to my wife Michelle, and we have 4 cats, no kids yet, but soon. Since I joined the Army, I've gained an appreciation for enjoying what life has to offer. I've taken advantage of some amazing opportunities I wouldn't have been able to take part in if I stayed in the civilian world. I'm not what you would call an adrenaline junkie or an extreme daredevil or anything, but from time to time I like to push myself to see just what I can really do, & sometimes even I'm amazed at the results. For the most part I've accomplished every goal I set out to accomplish from my earliest Army days. Despite what I've done, I'm still very laid back, down to earth, humble, non-condescending, & I will always treat everyone as an equal & w/the utmost respect until I have reason to do otherwise.
School
Well, what can I say? I went to El Camino between 1984-1988. Overall, my experiences weren't all that memorable, nevertheless, it's a part of me so therefore it's helped to make me into who I am/am not today. I made some great friends while I was there, which made the experience more worthwhile. When we weren't "studying" hard, we were ditching all the rallies & driving around off-campus, anywhere faculty wasn't present. Graduation was great, especially when we were bouncing the beach ball around.
College
After graduating from ...Expand for more
El Camino in 1988 I atteded American River College (or USC-University of Southern Carmichael). I went until Jan 1991, unfortunately I didn't get far enough to graduate or anything. In Feb 1991 I made the call to join the Army, where I have been ever since. I believe it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Find out more by reading my Military Bio. Hope to hear from you.
Military
It's amazing to think I'm near the end of my military career. I went to Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC. I must have been crazy, because I actually had fun there. Upon finishing Basic Training, it was off to Fort Belvoir, VA. That's the home of the Defense Mapping Agency and School. I learned the fundamentals of Photo and Layout work while I was assigned there. It's among the beginning of the printing process. I graduated from the Defense Mapping School four months later. My first assignment took me to Hawaii, which was quite the envy of my class (hehehe!!). Yet after 3 years I never learned to surf. Figure that one out. I did frequent quite a few different beaches however, so all was not totally lost. That changed in Jan '08, I picked up a board & finally learned how to surf, dammit!! After my tour in Hawaii was up I volunteered to be assigned to Fort Bragg so I could learn how to "jump out of perfectly good airplanes". I was stationed there for 6 years and I've jumped about 30 times. During that time I deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for 2 consecutive short tours, which was interesting and quite challenging as well. After Fort Bragg, I was in Germany for nearly 5 years with an aviation unit. I was hoping to go up in an Apache at least once, but that never happened. Oh, well, there are worse things. During that time I spent 3 months in Kosovo & nearly a year in Iraq. Now I'm an Intelligence Analyst stationed in Colorado. I'm assigned to a Special Operations unit, which is quite the unique experience. I was promoted to Sergeant First Class while assigned here. I've waited a long time for this, so this will be a great stepping stone in my military career. Next up: Master Sergeant and a move to Fort Richardson, Alaska come July '08.
My best friend would probably tell you I'm loyal & caring, but people who don't know me very well would probably describe me as always on the go, busy, & loud & crazy.
I share my home with 4 cats & a dog, which I find entertaining at times, especially when our dog chases the cats around the house.
In 10 years, I hope to be retired. I'm looking to get there by staying in the Federal system & socking some of our hard earned money away.
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