Congratulations to Major General  Les Simpson on his retirement from the Texas Army National Guard after 37 years of excellent service to the nation and our state. Simpson completed his career as the commanding general of the 36th Infantry Division, serving in that capacity since 2014. Among other awards and recognitions, he was awarded the Texas Superior Service Medal by Major General John F. Nichols during the ceremony at the Texas State Capitol on July 15, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Giles, 36th Infantry Division) — withMajor General John F. Nichols and Lester Simpsonat Texas State Capitol

The new Minor provides students an opportunity to undertake focused study of the origins, development, and influence of armed conflict in the human past. Students fulfill the program’s requirements by completing a series of elective courses examining historical conflicts and/or military eras.

Working toward a B.A. in the College of Science?

Committed to earning your Bachelor’s in Business Administration?

No worries!

Regardless of your College or Major, once you’ve fulfilled the two university-required core courses in US History you can wrap up a Minor in Military History by successfully completing just four (4) classes from the list below.

Minor Elective Courses (12 hours) – any four of the following:

HIST 3325 Civil War & Reconstruction

HIST 3348 American Foreign Relations, 1775-1913

HIST 3349 American Foreign Relations, 1913 to the present

HIST 3356 US Military History

HIST 3361 The United States in Vietnam

HIST 3384 War & Social Change / The Military Revolution

HIST 3388 The Great War, 1914-1918

HIST 3389 World War II, 1939-1945

HIST 4330 Medieval Crusade & Jihad

HIST 4363 The USSR in Global Cold War

HIST 4388 Topics in History (when applicable)

Congratulations to the ten new Second Lieutenants commissioned from UTA’s ROTC program on 13 May 2017!

LTC Doty gives the commissioning oath to: 2LT Yanik Blackwood, 2LT John C. Giglio, 2LT Lindsay R. Grossman, 2LT Nicholas C. Hergenrother, 2LT Gideon M. King, 2LT Daniel D. Komsoukaniants, 2LT Malcolm D. Kuemmerlein, 2LT Eugene D. Patton and 2LT Thor J. Rushing. (List is not in order as pictured in photo.) To the right is CCAC life member MG Lester Simpson, the principal speaker at the commissioning.

UTA and the CCAC are very proud of these young officers who are continuing the corps’ proud tradition of service to our country. Three were commissioned Armor, one Infantry, one Military Intelligence, one Signal, one Air Defense Artillery, one Field Artillery, one Quartermaster and one Medical Service Corps to serve as a medical evacuation pilot.

Congratulations to MS2 cadets Shibo Yu and Amanda Garcia, the 2017 recipients of the CCAC scholarship awards!  A total of $5,000 was distributed between the two.

Thanks to CCAC Gold Bar program members whose tax-deductible donations enable the CCAC to award these scholarships.

The photo is of CCAC Executive Committee member Floyd Wine presenting the scholarship award to cadet Yu at the 4 May UTA ROTC awards ceremony. Cadet Garcia was not available for the photo.

At the May 4th UTA ROTC awards ceremony, CCAC Executive Board member Floyd Wine had the pleasure of presenting a lifetime CCAC membership certificate and a copy of the Gary Havard painting “Cadet Echoes” to the 2017 Preston A. Weatherred award winner MS IV cadet Laura Pavlik, a University Studies major. Congratulations & welcome to the CCAC, cadet Pavlik!

On 23 February 2017, following a one hour session on leadership by Major General Anthony Cucolo, the UT system associate vice chancellor for leadership and veterans’ program,  six CCAC members conducted a panel on “Bringing Military Leadership Experiences to a Civilian Profession” for the UTA cadet corps.   They discussed how military training & experience  transcends into civilian life and careers.   Those skills overlap, and certainly the panel members have impressive resumes and credentials that prove the point.

From the left they are:  Jeanie Deakyne Panton, Professor of Military Science LTC James Doty Allan (Bunky) Garonzik, Stan Thompson, Ken Smith, Don Stevenson and Al Ellis.

Proud to announce that (from left to right) CCAC Life member Ron Rendleman, CCAC Life member, Allan (Bunky) Garonzik and Bunky’s brother-in-law David Sloan won their class at the 17-19 Feb 2017 Dallas Auto Rama. Sloan also won “Best Engine.” Well done!

For background and laughs on some CCAC members love affair with old autos read “The Crypt” in Stories & Legends section of this website.

Floyd Wine was presented the Van Weston award from March of Dimes, Fort Worth Chapter this morning. He has volunteered for 47 years for them, and has been a Chairman for over 35 years for The Cowtown-wowzers! Side note: you may have seen him DJ at The CALF Run or dance at the start line during Cowtown Marathon weekend. Thank you Floyd for your countless volunteer hours, you’re one of a kind!

Congratulations to Eddie T. Drain, the new Police Chief in Amarillo, Texas. You can call him Chief, or you could call him Colonel.

Seems so many of our UTA Military Alumni really take to heart the word “Service.” Eddie is no exception. He is a Lifetime Member of the CCAC, a UTA graduate, and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve. Eddie was deployed to Iraq from April 2004 to April 2005 where he was awarded the Bronze Star.

Eddie started his law enforcement career in 1994 and before he went to Amarillo, he was the Assistant Chief of Police in Plano, Texas.

Eddie was commissioned in the UTA class of 1982. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy; and holds a Certified Master Police Officer license, the highest certification an officer can achieve.

He and his wife Linda now reside in Amarillo, Texas.

To read more about Eddie’s accomplishments and new position, go to:http://amarillo.gov/?p=9474

Of course, most reading this know Al as the Jody Commander in the 60’s, or the Corps Commander at ASC.  Some of you know Al as a Company Commander in the 82nd Airborne in Vietnam and the recipient of the Bronze Star. Others might know Al as a UTA Distinguished Alumni, or the Military Hall of Honor Recipient.

Others may know Al as the President of the Dallas Bar Association or through his many charities over the years including his weekly help roofing houses for Habitat, or his multiple trips to Haiti and Vietnam to build houses. The resume for Al exceeds the space allocated by Facebook—awards, charities, law practice, wine connoisseur, fuel injection specialists—the list of accomplishments is truly endless—even an article in D Magazine about Best Lawyers.

His latest accolade is the 2016 recipient of the Morrie Harrell Professionalism Award presented by the Dallas Bar Association. This award truly exemplifies Al’s character relating to Legal Ethics & Professionalism by his conduct and professional traits.

Al Ellis, truly the Gold Standard that many of us aspire to be.

UTA’s Military Science Department is often invited to participate in the Annual Run-to-the-Texas-Vietnam-Memorial-at-Fair-Park event in Dallas in November. The memorial at Fair Park is the oldest memorial dedicated to the Texas veterans that paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Sam Houston Rifles perform and the UTA Color guard  present the colors.  A large crowd of mostly Vietnam Veterans usually attend.  .The Run to the Wall event coordinator is CCAC member Fred Campos, USMC.

The Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located on the South side of Fair Park at the intersection of First and Parry avenues near the Automobile Building.

The run starts in Arlington on Saturday morning and ends with the ceremony at the memorial. There is a motorcycle ride from the Ballpark in Arlington escorted by the Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Dallas Police Departments.   The motorcycle ride is the reason the “Run-to” was added to the name of the event.

The procession usually arrives at the memorial at 1245 hours and the ceremony begins at 1300 hour (1:00pm) and ends exactly at 1400 hours (2:00 pm).

Additional details will be provided as November approaches.

CCAC DFW area members are urged to attend and show your support of our veterans as well as UTA’s Military Science Department