Iraq war vet to give speech at UTM

The Non-Traditional Students Association will be sponsoring an event in the Watkins Auditorium this Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 12 p.m., as the Skyhawk Veterans Association commemorate Veterans Day.

Chris Cummings, acting Sergeant First Class of the 913th Engineer Company and currently Union City Police Department's Criminal Investigator, will be speaking on the History of Veterans Day, definition of a Veteran and the issues student veterans face after war.  The Skyhawk Veterans Association is not an official student organization just yet, but has been given temporary status as an organization on campus.

Speaker, Christopher Cummings, was born and raised in North Dakota.  He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1989 right out of high school in the Military Police Corps.  After his Basic Training and Military Police school he was stationed in Berlin, Germany arriving within weeks of the Berlin Wall collapsing.  Duties in Berlin included manning the historic Checkpoint Charlie, as well as Law Enforcement for the American sector.  

In 1992 he was transferred back stateside to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. where he completed his active duty time with the Army in 1993.  In January 1994 he was sworn in as a Police Officer with the Union City Police Department, where he still works today, currently as a Criminal Investigator.  

In October 1994 he enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard as a heavy equipment operator, serving out of the Union City Armory.  In 2004 he completed the Army's Paralegal school and was transferred to the 194th Engineer Brigade in Jackson, Tenn., to be a Legal NCO.  The unit was deployed to Iraq later that same year as he served on a convoy/personnel protection team for the majority of that tour.  His duties were to supervise the soldiers of his team as well as dignitaries to include General Officers while "outside the wire" traveling to various places in Iraq.  

In 2009 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant First Class just in time for another deployment to Iraq.  He served as the Legal Non Commissioned Officer in Charge of a brigade legal office. Although eligible for retirement from the Guard, he has no plans to do so anytime in the near future.

Veterans Day is Friday, November 11th intended to honor and thank all military personnel who served the United States during all wars and to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the armistice ending World War I hostilities between Allied Nations and Germany in 1918.  We ask all students to support your Veterans by attending the Skyhawk Veteran's Association commemoration of Veteran's Day with speaker Christopher Cummings and take part in a period of silence lasting two minutes November 11th, Veteran's Day, at 11 a.m. to honor all war veterans who have served and are serving in the United States Military.