Paul Rieckhoff
| Paul Rieckhoff | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Paul Rieckhoff |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1998 - 2007 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
Paul Rieckhoff is a veteran of the United States Army and the Iraq War. He is the Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).[1] He served as an Army First Lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in Iraq from 2003 through 2004.[1] Rieckhoff was released from active duty in March 2004 and the National Guard in 2007. He serves on the New York State Council on Returning Veterans and their Families. Rieckhoff also sits on the Veterans Advisory Board of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs.
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[edit] Education
Rieckhoff graduated from Amherst College in 1998 with a BA in Political Science.[1] Following his service as an Army specialist, he graduated from Officer Candidate School in 2001 and was commissioned as an officer. In February 2002, Rieckhoff began the Infantry Officers Basic Course at Fort Benning, Georgia and graduated in June 2002.
[edit] Military service
Rieckhoff enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves on September 15, 1998 and completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort McClellan, Alabama.[2] He then served in the U.S. Army Reserves, as a Specialist with the 812th Military Police Company. While working on Wall Street at J.P. Morgan in 1999, Rieckhoff transferred to the New York Army National Guard. He graduated from Officer Candidate School in June 2001 and was named a Distinguished Military Graduate. Rieckhoff selected infantry as his branch and joined A Company, 1/105th INF (Light).
Rieckhoff left Wall Street on September 7, 2001 with plans to travel and complete additional military schooling. On the morning of September 11, Rieckhoff was at his apartment on 24th Street in Manhattan when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. He participated in the rescue efforts at ground zero.[3] His unit was formally activated for rescue and security operations later that evening.
In January 2003, Rieckhoff was called to deploy to Iraq. Two days later, he was on a plane to join the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Rieckhoff was then assigned as a Platoon Leader for 3rd Platoon, B Company, 3/124th INF (Air Assault) FLNG. The unit was attached to 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and spent almost a year conducting combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq. Third Platoon conducted over 1,000 dismounted and mounted combat patrols. All thirty-eight of the men in Rieckhoff's platoon returned home alive.
Rieckhoff wrote a book describing his experiences in Iraq and activism afterwards entitled Chasing Ghosts (2006).[1]
[edit] Public life
Paul Rieckhoff founded IAVA in 2004[3] and has appeared on many television and radio programs including NBC Nightly News, World News With Charles Gibson, The Early Show, Tavis Smiley, The Charlie Rose Show, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Anderson Cooper 360°, The Rachel Maddow Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Henry Rollins Show.[3]
He has written articles and opinion columns for The New York Times, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and Military.com.[3]
Rieckhoff was inducted into the Global Ashoka Fellowship in 2010 as recognition of his innovation and entrepreneurship on behalf of new veterans.[4]
Named #37 of GQ’s "50 Most Powerful People in D.C.]" in 2009,[5] Rieckhoff has been honored with the Common Ground “Celebrating Home Award” and the Generation Engage “Lewis Cullman Civic Engagement Award” for his leadership in the service community.[6] In 2004, he was also honored by Esquire magazine as one of “America’s Best and Brightest.” Rieckhoff is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
[edit] Press & Published Works
- Chasing Ghosts: Failures and Facades in Iraq: A Soldier's Perspective (NAL Caliber, 2007)
- "Celebrate Independence By Helping Our Veterans" in The Weekly Standard, 4 July 2011.
- "Paul Rieckhoff and Nick Colgin on vet unemployment" on CNN, 5 August 2011.
- "Cost of Treating Veterans Will Rise Long Past Wars" in The New York Times, 27 July 2011.
- "Who Are You Calling Rambo?" in Newsweek, 12 June 2009.
- "Do Unto Your Enemy..." in The New York Times, 25 September 2006.
- "Paul Rieckhoff on SupportOurTroops.org" on The Colbert Report, 5 May 2009.
- "When Cinéma Vérité Isn’t" in Newsweek, 23 February 2010.
[edit] External links
- Chasing Ghosts Website
- Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
- Twitter page
- Paul Rieckhoff at the Internet Movie Database
- "Murder Amidst War: Interview with Paul Rieckhoff", NOW on PBS
- Huffingtonpost.com Blog
- Interview on The Colbert Report
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Iava Staff & Board". http://iava.org/content/iava-staff-board. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Paul Rieckhoff". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001ITPGH4. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Paul Rieckhoff". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Ashoka Fellows - Paul Rieckhoff". 2010. http://www.ashoka.org/fellows/paul_rieckhoff. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ Robert Draper, Sarah Goldstein, Wil S. Hylton, Mark Kirby, Raha Naddaf, Tory Newmyer, and Greg Veis (November 2009). "The 50 Most Powerful People in D.C". http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/200911/50-most-powerful-people-in-dc#slide=37. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Paul Rieckhoff". Change.org. http://www.change.org/changemakers/view/paul_rieckhoff. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
