Robert Kuper:  

Life has been quite an adventure. Still smiling after all those years. Left CHS without a plan but got serious due to the help of a wonderful, beautiful, loveable classmate who helped me get focused. Went off to Glassboro with Connie, (loved that guy), we played football and partied far too much (well maybe just about right, got it out of my system), I left there and went off to West Point thinking Med School or a military career. Being Post Vietnam it was not a popular decision. But I felt the calling. I wanted a real purpose, I loved working out and training nonstop with great academics, And it was Division 1 football, so West Point seemed like the perfect place for me. It was, and I thrived there and it opened a lot of doors. I played football, lacrosse and powerlifting. I was starting defensive back freshman year when I suffered a concussion (#5 on record) and separated shoulder and torn cartilage in my knee. I was strongly encouraged (not banned) to stop the contact sports as it put my fitness at risk for the Army, as a possible consequence of further injuries. I made a responsible decision and just stayed with powerlifting. It was a tough decision as I was just finally peaking in my ability in football. I could have had a nice college career but graduating from West Point was the more responsible decision. I did graduate in 1980 with a Chemical Engineering degree. Graduated top of my class (no not academics, but physical education and training and very high in leadership). I did not apply to Med School (regrettable), but decided Airborne (paratrooper), Ranger, Special Operations was more to my liking. The plan was to spend 5 years in the field then go to grad school with the next assignment or 2 going back to teach and coach at West Point. That sounded like a great career plan. Of course, Life is just not that predictable, nor cooperative. So I did go to airborne school during my sophomore summer and after graduation I planned to become an Army Ranger, but fractured my spine in training. All of a sudden the career that appeared to be so well thought out and planned was short circuited. Bummer! I was med-evac to Walter Reed Army Medical center (there would be other med-evacs for me). Underwent several surgeries. Attempted to return to soldiering but repeated spinal injuries left me disabled. (There is a long, long medical history that followed). In between all that I learned of a place called Picatinny Arsenal, in of all places, "New Jersey". Picatinny Arsenal has been in NJ since the Revolution. I started at Picatinny as a Chemical Engineer in 1982. Picatinny is the Center of Excellence for 90% of the Army's Lethality solutions, plus the place where the Army Nuclear Weapons Mission was conducted from the early days (shared among many other Army and Dept of Energy Locations across the USA). The Army later abandoned the Nuclear mission in the 1990's as the wall came down and the Cold War ended. So I started as a Nuclear Weapons Engineer and progressed through a variety positions across the Army lethality and support missions. I was truly blessed, and lucky, and moved up the ranks very quickly to the top pay grade in civil service in 8 short years. So I was a very young Executive. That has its blessings and its challenges and I was all about challenges. I had recovered quite well from my Army injuries, however they would get the best of me in time, I just didn't know of the insanity that was coming. I completed a couple Engineering Masters Degrees and the Army MBA progrm, numerous certifications and served in many leadership positions, developed advanced technologies and just really loved my career. Along the way I married Lois, and had 3 wonderful kids, Brent, Lindsay and Jeffrey During Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm I was named by General Paul Greenberg as the lead for all weapons, ammunition and chemical defensive equipment deployed to the war effort. It was a great honor ...Expand for more