Mr. Jose Caraballo
Mr. Jose M. Caraballo enlisted in the Army in 1995, completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as a 19K (Armor Crewman) at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor, 2ND BDE, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as a tank loader/driver and participated in Intrinsic Action 97-3 in Kuwait. After returning from Kuwait, he continued with the 67th Armor until June 1998, before being reassigned to the 2nd Battalion, 63rd Armor in Vilseck, Germany. Promoted to Sergeant, he served as a Tank Gunner and participated in Task Force Sabre in Macedonia and Kosovo in 2000.
Upon completing his tour in Germany, he was reassigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor, 1ST BDE, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. Promoted to Staff Sergeant, he served as a Tank Commander and participated in the Invasion of Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF-1) in March 2003. After returning from OIF-1, he was reassigned to Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 81st Armor, The Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he served as a Senior Drill Sergeant for 19K One-Station Unit Training (OSUT).
He attended the Armor Senior Leader Course and was later promoted to Sergeant First Class. In 2006, he was reassigned to the Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment with the Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. There, he served as the Mobile Gun System (MGS) Platoon Sergeant from 2006 to 2010, participating in Talisman Saber 2007 in Australia and a second deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF-5) from 2008 to 2009.
In 2010, he was reassigned to the 10th Mountain Division Headquarters (Light Infantry) at Fort Drum, New York. Upon arrival, he deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom as a Future Operations (FUOPS) Senior NCO in G-35 from 2010 to 2011. Upon returning, he was reassigned to the University of New Hampshire Army ROTC Wildcat Battalion where he was the Operations NCO and MSIII Instructor until he retired in November 2015.
Mr. Caraballo's military and civilian education includes the Primary Leadership Development Course, the Basic Non-commissioned Officer's Course, the Master Fitness Course, and the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer's Course. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Management.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal (2nd award), Meritorious Service Medal (2nd award), Army Commendation Medal with Valor, Army Commendation Medal (5th award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd award), Army Good Conduct Medal (5th award), National Defense Service Medal (2nd award), Armed Forces Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon (3rd award), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (5th award), North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal (ISAF and Kosovo), Drill Sergeant Identification Badge, Combat Action Badge, and The Order of Saint George (Bronze).
Mr. Caraballo retired in November 2015 following his 20 years of active-duty service retirement, he continued to serve as an Army JROTC Instructor at Lawrence High School, Lawrence, Massachusetts, for ten years. After his tenure at LHS, he returned to Wildcat BN as a Human Resource Assistant.
