FORT BRAGG, N.C. – After more than two years as Fort Bragg and 18th Airborne Corps’ senior-enlisted soldier, Command Sgt. Maj. Earl Rice made his final jump, Feb. 7, in an airborne operation on Sicily Drop Zone, Fort Bragg, N.C.
“What a great day to be a soldier; what a great day to be a paratrooper,” said Rice. “It really doesn’t get any better than when you can bail out of a perfectly good aircraft like we just did.”
“Thank God for a great airborne day,” he added.
Rice is moving on to Installation Management Command in Washington, D.C. He is set to leave Fort Bragg in the near future. But, like most paratroopers, he will sorely miss Fort Bragg and the airborne community – every paratrooper’s home away from home.
“Fort Bragg has always been our home away from home, and you [the soldiers and families] have made these last two years a blast for us,” said Rice.
Rice entered the Army in 1981 as an infantryman. He’s served in a variety of positions including all levels of infantry leadership, drill sergeant, and reserve officer training corps instructor. Rice is a complete Army soldier, having served numerous overseas deployments including Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, a tour in southern Europe, and a tour in Korea.
Date Taken: | 02.07.2012 |
Date Posted: | 02.09.2012 10:41 |
Story ID: | 83581 |
Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Web Views: | 486 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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