Tactical battalion command

WASHINGTON – A former ROTC instructor at the University of Maine recently was selected one of 35 infantry officers who will assume a tactical battalion command for the U.S. Army.

Lt. Col. Karl D. Reed, son of David and Janice Reed of Southwest Harbor, was on the Jan. 10 command selection list naming officers who will assume a tactical battalion command in spring of 2003.

An infantry battalion comprises more than 700 soldiers who are trained and ready to fight anywhere needed.

Reed is a graduate of Mount Desert High School, Class of 1980. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern Maine and in 1996 earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maine.

He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1986 after participating in ROTC at the University of Southern Maine.

Reed was stationed in Germany from 1987 to 1989 and also served in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.

It was while studying for his master’s in business administration that Reed taught ROTC at the University of Maine.

“It was a way to give back a little bit,” he said in a telephone interview from Washington. “It’s important that Maine has those opportunities for young people.”

Reed, who is married to the former Sharon Coulombe of Fort Kent, comes from a military family.

His father was a warrant officer in the Army. Both younger brothers are in the service, as well – Maj. Shawn Reed at Fort Lewis in Washington and Warrant Officer Kevin Reed at Fort Eustis in Virginia.

Reed received the Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman’s Badge while serving in the 101st Airborne Division. His most recent troop assignment was as a battalion executive officer and battalion operations officer in the 82nd Airborne Division. Reed, who has a home in Orrington, currently is assigned in Washington.

Awards

BANGOR – Eighteen reservists from the Naval Reserve Center in Bangor have earned the Meritorious Service Medal, an award earned for every three years of faithful service in the Naval Reserve.

Lt. Comm. Phil Branch, commanding officer, presented medals:

. First award: Petty Officers Melissa Quintella, Richard Barnard, Marc Averill and Randall Dixon.

. Second award: Petty Officers Donald Dunton and Chris Barnes.

. Third award: Petty Officer Brent Treadwell.

. Fourth award: Chief Petty Officer Albert Keller.

. Fifth award: Senior Chief Petty Officer Carl Dodge.

Commissions

ORONO – Tracee J. St. John of Orono has been commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

St. John, a graduate of Orono High School and the University of Southern Maine, took the oath of office Dec. 20 at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama after completing officer training school. As an Air Force officer, St. John will be assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.