Kenneth Irizarry Personal History

Personal History provided by Kenneth Irizarry

I was in the S-2 section of the 5-18th Infantry Battalion/ 3rd Brigade/ 3rd Armored Division. The S2 NCOIC was a MSG Campbell, the S2 NCO was a SGT Bergami, the S2 was a CPT Fauconnet, the Assistant S2 was a LT Weaver.

The motto for the 5-18th Infantry Battalion was "Spartans Kill Tanks, Sir!"

Finally, many people feel that what we Desert Storm veterans did was not so much. And, actually when compared to the combat veterans from WW II and Korea and Vietnam they are soundly right. But, we Desert Storm veterans were ready to go the distance and sacrifice ourselves if need be for the Nation's cause. We can only thank God that it was not as difficult as previous wars that our Nation has been involved with. And, I am glad that people like yourself are charged to continue to update the history of our Nation no matter how trivial it may seem to an outsider. But, believe you me, it is not at all trivial for the men and women who have had the privilege to defend our Nation.

The little story about me knocking out SPC Bean's teeth is a true one. SPC Bean was one of those barracks drunk/ bully types who picked the wrong person to mess with the night I knocked out his teeth. I know it does not sound too professional, but what makes an Army company unique to another company are those little stories so if you do not mind printing it please do.

HHC Commander, CPT Cloy, promoted me to SPC, a couple of days before the ground war, with my NCOIC MSG Campbell. The story here is that CPT Cloy did not want to promote me and only did so because the Brigade Commander, COL Goff, radioed the BN TOC and told him to do so. Col Goff liked me because I worked my rear off making terrain tables for the whole BDE. I even made terrain tables of the different Ranges at Grafenwohr, of CMTC at Hohenfels, of CMTC at BN's attic, of the whole of Germany, so it seemed. And, he gave me a 3rd Brigade coin for all that terrain work and I was not even a terrain guy. And, when he saw me at the BDE TOC, picking up maps, still with PFC rank, he got mad and told me that I would get promoted that day because my terrain work helped the entire 3rd Brigade.

You see I was flagged for any favorable action via an Article 15. CPT Cloy gave me the Article 15 because of that fight with SPC Bean that happened a month before we deployed to the desert. No more than an hour later the BN CDR, LTC Neely, who was gone for most of the day, said no dice and that COL Goff, a brigade commander, does not have the right to do on the spot promotions, only a general can. I was back to PFC. Then 30 minutes later, LTC Neely said okay, because, well, you did what you were told in the Army and when a little bird, the COL, speaks people listen.

Thanks, Kenneth Irizarry, S-2, 5-18 Infantry