The Service
The Service™ is the WeSalute (founded as Veterans Advantage) Community blog for those who serve, those who care, and those who want to connect to all things military
The Service
The Service
The Service™ is the WeSalute (founded as Veterans Advantage) Community blog for those who serve, those who care, and those who want to connect to all things military
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: William G. "Gus" Pagonis
Lessons learned during his 29-year career in the Army, from which he retired in 1993 as a lieutenant general, have served William G. Pagonis well.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: James Webb
James Webb, whose distinguished career has swung between government service and writing, hails from a family with a strong citizen-soldier military tradition. Family members have served during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. Mr. Webb’s father was a career Air Force officer who flew B-17s and B-29s during World War Two, cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift, and was a pioneer in the United States missile program.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Jim Clark, Netscape & MyCFO
Jim Clark dropped out of high school and joined the Navy not so much to see the world as to escape Plainview. After nine months at sea, he returned to the U.S., took a math test, and came out at the top of his class.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Sumner Redstone, VIACOM
If “content is king,” as Sumner Redstone is frequently quoted as saying, then he is the King of Content.WeSalute Awards
HeroVet Lt. Gen. Martin Steele (USMC, ret’d) Instilling Tradition, from the Corps to the Intrepid
In August 1966, he was a 19-year-old corporal, a college dropout who had enlisted in the Marines. Following a tour as a machine gunner as the nasty little conflict in Vietnam was escalating into a war, he had just returned to stateside service. Assigned to Quantico, where he would be Commanding General more than a quarter of a century later, Marty Steele met Karl Taylor.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: John Huey, Time Inc.
John Huey, a former Navy intelligence officer who became managing editor of Fortune magazine in 1995, is the new editorial director of Time Inc., the second-highest editorial position in the company. He now has direct control over more magazines – the company publishes more than 60 -- than any other editor in Time Inc. history.Military & Veterans News
Vet News: Now on the Silver Screen: Making ‘Band of Brothers’
WASHINGTON, August 16, 2001 - Audiences around the country are hearing firsthand about the hell that sparked an everlasting bond between World War II soldiers from a Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg production.Military & Veterans News
Vet News: Recruit Attrition Rates Fall Across The Services
Recruit attrition rates are dropping across the services thanks to programs that try to prepare enlistees for the rigors of basic training before they ship out and revamped training policies.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: J. Craig Venter, Celera Genomics
When he was a corpsman in Vietnam, J. Craig Venter saw life vanish in an instant, blotted out by a rocket or a bullet or a booby trap. Now, a leading genomic scientist, founder of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), he is in the pioneer in the effort to unlock the elemental mysteries of life.Military & Veterans News
Cover Story: James Lee Burke
"Most of my dreams about Vietnam were nightmares that at one time made me fear sleep. I used to drink three beers before bed so I would sleep through to the morning. But now somebody was carrying me in the warm rain and I knew that I was once again in the loving care of the soldiers in my platoon. I had heard the klatch under my foot in the dark on the jungle trail; then, as though I were a spectator rather than a participant, I saw myself covered with cobalt light, my body crawl with electricity, my soul light the trees like an enormous candle." -- from The Neon RainWeSalute Awards
TopVet: Jack DeBoer, Candlewood Suites
Jack DeBoer is recognized as the pioneer of the extended-stay hotel concept, having founded the Residence Inn chain and co-founded the Summerfield Hotel Corp.Military & Veterans Life
Richard Rezac, Photographer, Captures the Courage of the Common Soldier
While best known for his sculpture, Richard Rezac has had a long and productive career as a professional photographic retoucher and illustrator. Working with state-of-the-art imaging computers, he digitally manipulates images for such clients as Vogue International, Coca Cola, and Anheuser Busch.Military & Veterans News
Cover Story: The Military Artwork of Richard Rezac
John Rezac has had a long and productive career as a professional photographic retoucher and illustrator. Working with state-of-the-art imaging computers, he digitally manipulates images for such clients as Vogue International, Coca Cola, and Anheuser Busch.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Steven Reinemund, CEO of PepsiCo
Steven S. Reinemund, who learned a lot about leadership as an officer in the Marine Corps, is the new Chairman of the Board and CEO of PepsiCo.WeSalute Awards
CelebVet: Al Bumbry, Baseball All-Star
Of the thousands of professional athletes – in major league baseball, basketball, and football, in tennis and golf – only a handful served on active duty during the years of the Vietnam War. This was a major difference between Vietnam and World War II, when major leaguers flocked to enlist by the hundreds, often to the detriment of their careers.WeSalute Awards
CelebVet: Pat Sajak, Wheel of Fortune
Sajak, a Chicago native, left college to join the Army in what he calls “a burst of patriotism.” His hope was to get to work for Armed Forces Radio. Instead, he was trained as a clerk-typist. Sent to Vietnam as a finance clerk, he wrote to his congressmanWeSalute Awards
TopVet: Hansel Tookes II, Raytheon Aircraft
Hansel E. Tookes II, a former pilot for the Navy - he flew P-3D Orions - and United Airlines, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Raytheon Aircraft Company, the world’s leading business and special mission aircraft manufacturer.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Ed Roski, Jr., Vietnam Vet and Real Estate Developer
After four years in the Marine Corps, Ed Roski returned in 1966 from the jungles of Vietnam to work in the family business: Majestic Realty Company, founded by his father in 1948, of which he is now President and CEO.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Alan G. Lafley
A. G. Lafley’s election last year as President and Chief Executive of Procter & Gamble capped his 23-year career with the 163-year-old company. Cincinnati-based P&G is one of the largest producers of home products in the world, including such household staples as Tide, Joy, JIF, Pampers, Pringles and Ivory.WeSalute Awards
HeroVet Duery Felton, Jr., Curator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection curator Duery Felton Jr. often stands amid boxes that store items left at the Wall. Felton and his staff also oversee collections from over 40 other regional National Park Service sites, such as the Clara Barton House, Ford's Theatre and the Lee Mansion. Thirty-five years ago, he was one of McNamara’s 100,000, part of the big draft call of November 1966. He went from high school to Vietnam with minimal training in between – basic at Ft. Gordon; advanced infantry at Ft. Jackson – to meet the critical need for bodies as the American preWeSalute Awards
TopVet: Fred Rochlin, Author & Performance Artist
At the age of 19, Fred Rochlin enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was assigned as a navigator on B-24s. Of the ten men in his crew, only two survived the war.WeSalute Awards
HeroVet: Major General Nels Running Shepherd of the Commemoration Of the Korean War
The first time Nels Running actually boarded an aircraft, the Frenchtown, Montana native was traveling from Missoula to Colorado Springs to enter the Air Force Academy. Although piloting a sleek jet fighter had never been a boyhood ambition, "I got hooked the first chance I had at the controls," he said. This was in 1960.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Albert F. Myers, Northrop Grumman
As Corporate Vice President and Treasurer at Northrop Grumman, Albert F. Myers has responsibility for banking, risk management, benefits administration, pension and savings investments, mergers and acquisitions, trust management, and cash management. He was elected to his current position in 1994, 13 years after coming to Northrop Grumman as manager of flight controls engineering at the company’s former B-2 Division.WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Harry J. Pearce, Hughes Electronics
During his service career, Mr. Pearce served as a Staff Judge Advocate in the Air Force and was certified as a military judge.