William Gabbard - Army Strong Stories

Our Son, The Ranger

William Gabbard — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:12:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Our son, 2LT Mike Gabbard, graduated from Ranger School Friday. It was a gorgeous morning at Ft Benning, and I was one of several hundred happy Ranger fans who watched the famous Rangers In Action demonstration, followed by the tabbing ceremony. Class 1-12 started with 385, and a little over 150 finished. Mike's mom and I are so proud of him! Rangers lead the way!...read more

THE Game

William Gabbard — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:20:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Tomorrow's game...our annual reminder of what college football used to be like. No agents, no megabuck contracts, no uncontrolled hype, no outstanding arrest warrants or jail sentences. Just sixty minutes of hard-played ball, followed by careers and lifetimes dedicated, on both sidelines, to one united purpose. That's Army-Navy. Below is a link to a good article in today's McPaper about THE Game....read more

Victory Drive Evening

William Gabbard — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:50:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
A tribute to the Army's newest Rangers! Had a great visit with our own Ranger tonight, looking forward to pinning that tab on him tomorrow morning :)...read more

A Beautiful Day to See Ft. Benning

William Gabbard — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:35:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Waiting for my plane to fly down to Ft B to see our son Lt. Mike Gabbard, who graduates from Ranger School tomorrow. Can't wait. Mom and I are SO proud of him! Tabbing pics to come :)...read more

Honoring My Family's Veterans

William Gabbard — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:03:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Grateful for the legacy of my family's service to our great country, especially our sons Ben (deployed), and Mike (in Ranger School). In memory and in honor of: M/Sgt Benjamin H. Gabbard, Jr (1921-1986): USNR 1947-1948; USAF 1948-1972 CMM Benjamin H. Gabbard, Sr (1888-1932): USN c. 1910-1930 PVT William R. Gabbard (1844-1922): Co. E, 47th Ky. Mounted Inf., Army of the Ohio, USA 1863-1864 1LT Robert C. Gabbard (1943-...read more

Blue Cord: Done. Next: Ranger!

William Gabbard — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:55:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Last week our son Mike graduated from IBOLC at Ft. Benning, in the top 20% of his class (Commandant's List). This past weekend, he began Ranger School. We love you, Mike, and are proud of you! Hooah! 2LT Michael Gabbard, Towson '11...read more

Welcoming A New Officer

William Gabbard — Mon, 23 May 2011 10:07:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
On May 20, 2011, the Greyhound Battalion of Loyola and Towson Universities in Baltimore welcomed its newest class of new Second Lieutenants. Among them was our son Michael. Mike is a senior at Towson, and graduates from college on May 26. His older brother Ben is a Navy LT(jg), serving on a guided missile cruiser based in Norfolk, VA. Ben is a 2008 graduate of the Naval Academy. Here's a shot of us immediately after the Commissioning ceremony, held in the Loyola Chapel. The guest...read more

Go Army AND Navy (and Air Force too!)

William Gabbard — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:36:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Now what? A picture of a Navy football player? What site was this again? But...if you look a little closer at #74's jersey, particularly his left shoulder...you'll notice that he's wearing, like all service academy football players, a patch, which the players wear to honor military units. Here's the patch close up: My son Ben graduated from the Naval Academy in May 2008. This photo is from his last regular season game in December 2007, at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore. During his USNA years...read more

Approaching Veterans' Day: A More Recent Living Photograph

William Gabbard — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:35:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Taken more recently, somewhere "Over There." Not as many troopers, obviously, as the photo I posted several days ago. But the sentiment...and the dedication to duty, are the same. Here's to us and those like us...Godspeed to all those in harm's way and to those who "keep 'em flying." A salute to all Veterans on this special day!...read more

Approaching Veterans' Day: An Amazing Photo

William Gabbard — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:35:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
With the approach of the 91st anniversary of the Armistice ending the First World War, a date which has evolved into what we now mark as Veterans' Day, I thought I'd post an interesting photo that was recently sent to me. The noted American photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas took a series of "living photographs" during the war which were used to help drum up support for the war effort. This particular shot was taken in the summer of 1918, at Camp Dodge, Iowa...read more

Touring Texas With the Field Band

William Gabbard — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:18:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
We're almost two weeks into our Fall tour and the concerts have all been wonderful, with enthusiastic audiences at every stop. In addition to our evening shows our chamber groups have been hard at work performing in schools and colleges along the way. The Soldiers' Chorus recently did a recital at Flower Mound High School in the metro Dallas area, to an audience of about sixty young singers. Speaking of young singers, I had the good fortune to share a smile with a young person after one of our...read more

Army Ten Miler 2009: A Beautiful Day to Run ARMY

William Gabbard — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:11:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Seventeen members of The Musical Ambassadors of the Army ran in the 25th annual Army Ten Miler in Washington, DC on October 4. It was a gorgeous Sunday morning as 30,000 runners from all over the world participated in what has come to be the world's second largest 10 mile race. Hooah! spirit was in abundance as Soldiers from units worldwide sent teams to compete in the official team events, and scores of more "informal" teams (like ours), from Army units far and wide, showed up to enjoy the...read more

Samoa Tsunami

William Gabbard — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:32:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
Many of you who read these posts serve, or have served, with Samoan Soldiers, whose families have been affected in many ways by the awful events of the last 24 hours. News accounts of the tsunami have found their way onto all of the major national and worldwide news outlets. I would also recommend http://www.samoanews.com, the local paper, which has pretty up to date info on water and electricity-related issues, and many updated photos. I won't bother with posting a photo as there...read more

Singing the Army Story

William Gabbard — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:25:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
We're finishing up a short tour through NJ, NY and PA. The audiences have been wonderful, as always. Tonight we performed at the Saratoga Perfoming Arts Center to a crowd of over three thousand, bundled up and somewhat chilly in the fall evening air of upstate New York, but warm and friendly in their response and reception. I'm always encouraged by the genuine love and support for America's Army that exists out in the Heartland. It's nice to get beyond the Beltway Moat to see the "real...read more

How I Marked The Anniversary of 9/11

William Gabbard — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:54:00 GMT

By: William Gabbard
I had the privilege of traveling to Georgia this past weekend to witness the final parachute jump and graduation ceremony of Class 40-09, Basic Airborne Course at Ft Benning. 442 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines received their jump wings at the end of a long day in which all of them made their final jumps at Fryar Drop Zone in front of bleachers full of families, friends and fellow Soldiers. Among the newest paratroopers was my son Michael. Mike is a junior at Towson University in...read more