Michael Gilbert

Wasilla High School

Class of 1985

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First Name	Michael
Last Name	Gilbert
Graduation Year	Class of 1985
Gender	Male
City	N/A
State/Province	AZ
Country	United States
Occupation	IT Analyst
Married	Yes
About Me	Moved to Hawaii shortly after graduation and attended BYU-Hawaii. I didn't last long. I took up surfing and that was all she wrote. In 1986 I set off for boot camp and came back to Hawaii as a radio operator in the Army Reserve. I was stationed with an engineer battalion in downtown Honolulu. I attempted to get more serious with college so I went back to school. I finished a couple of semesters before dropping out again...something about surfing. In 1987, if memory serves, I had an opportunity to travel to Korea as part of an annual military exercise. Shortly after my return it dawned on me...I loved the military. I liked soldiering! I planned on making it a career. In late 1987, I was granted a transfer to active duty. I was offered some new jobs: helicopter mechanic, medic, communications, and, most importantly, armor! I remember watching "Patton" as a teenager. I remember George C. Scott. I even had a scout master who was a tanker. After seeing the video, I was hooked! In February 1988, after a brief visit to my parents (who had moved to Sitka by that time), I was shipped off to Ft. Knox, Kentucky for training. Shortly thereafter, I received my first duty assignment: Mannheim, Germany! Life couldn't be any better! I arrived in Germany and was posted with an armor battalion in the 8th Infantry Division. Out mission: to cut the Russians off at the Rhine River and hold them until reinforcements came from the U.S. In other words, we were act as a "speed bump" for the Russians. =) Europe was great! When I wasn't tromping around the German countryside in 60-tons of ultimate off-road power (or blowing things up at the Army's main gunnery range in Hohenfels) I was touring the "Old Country". I've been the Britain, Spain, and Austria (yes, I have pics of the mansion from "The Sound of Music"!). Europe was a blast...a memory I'll cherish for the rest of my life. Moving on... In 1990, I was given the option of extending my tour in Germany or going back stateside. I made a mistake. In December 1989 I had gone on leave and visited my parents in Hawaii (they moved again). I was homesick for the Motherland. While Europe was fun, the good ol' USA was better. I opted to come home. In April 1990 (or thereabouts) I arrived in Ft. Hood, Texas (not the place I wanted to be...at least according to the intel I received in Germany when I got my assignment). The intel was partially right. I hated Ft. Hood. I hated Texas. It was hot, humid, and unbearable. And, for some strange reason, the Army seemed to lose all sorts of common sense when I returned stateside. I wasn't really happy. I was looking forward to 1993: next transfer eligibility date. I was looking toward Korea. =) Anyways, in 1990 a country by the name of Iraq invaded another country by the name of Kuwait. Oh joy. My division, the famous 1st Cavalry Division, was (if memory serves) the third major army unit to get the deployment orders. By August/September, we were kicking sand in Saudi Arabia. Suddenly, Ft. Hood became a not-so-bad place after all! After a couple of months in Saudi Arabia (in support of Operation Desert Shield), it appeared that negotiations weren't working. We moved up on the border with Iraq. We had a operational name change: it was now called Operation Desert Storm. My scariest moment was when a scud missle crashed into a building that was literally next to our shower point/field store in Hafar al Batin on 14 February 1991. It was so close that the windows had burst in our building upon impact and everything went dark. Guards outside immediately started sending out the alert for a chemical gas attack on the compound. I sure was glad I had already taken my shower and restocked on supplies from the PX...some guys were running from the showers with nothing on but a gas mask. Shortly thereafter, we (the US military) made history by entering Iraq and, rather forcefully, caused Saddam to withdraw his troops from Kuwait. I returned home later that summer and started the process of readjusting to post-war military life. Around same time frame (1990-91) the Soviet Union decided to fall apart. The Cold War was all but over. The end of an era was fast approaching. Given that, and (in my guess) the price tag of the Gulf War, the government started the process of downsizing our armed forces. The first on the chopping block were combat divisions and personnel in combat arms (those who basically do the fighting: infantrymen, tankers, etc.). Promotions were effectively frozen. My dream of making the military a career was coming to an end. Toward the end of 1991 I sat down with a re-enlistment specialist. I could re-enlist as a tanker...and not see a promotion any time soon (I was an E-4 promotable...one grade, and mere points away from making my stripes!). I could retrain for a new job (good luck with that...about all that was available were cooks and medics). I could transfer to the reserve, get a promotion, and take my luck in the civilian sector. Almost two years in Ft. Hood (along with a war in the world's largest sandbox) had taken their toll. I opted for the latter. I got out, on an early discharge, in November 1991 and moved to Tucson, Arizona (where my parents had, yet again, relocated). I was lucky enough to obtain a posting at an Army Reserve armor unit stationed at Ft. Huachuca. Unfortunately, the unit was disbanded in 1993 (a victim of further downsizing). Since it had been 8 years since I had first enlisted, I had fulfilled my obligation to the military. I was out for good. Since then, I have finished college: I have an MBA with an undergraduate in Information Technology (not bad for a former college dropout!). I work as an IT analyst for Tucson Electric Power Company. I finally got married (in August 2000). After a long and costly attempt to have children naturally we gave up and started looking at adoption. We were fortunate enough to learn about Arizona's "foster-to-adopt" program. My wife and I take in infants or toddlers who have been removed from their homes and where reunification does not seem likely. We have adopted two boys: Chase (3-1/2 yrs.) and Jonas (1-1/2 yrs.). We have adopted daddy's little princess: Shaylee (3 yrs.). With the exception of Chase, who came to us when he was 3 months old, we have had our children since they came...(read more)