Williams in the Armed Forces
Paul Danielson, MD ’88, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve; Lt. Col. John “Wily” Rahill ’88, F-16 pilot, The Green Mountain Boys, Vermont Air National Guard; and Warren “Bunge” Cook ’98, Major, U.S. Marines, Infantry Company Commander, Third Battalion, First Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expedition Force
Dr. Danielson, an attending pediatric surgeon at UMass Medical Center, has served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps for 15 years. His first deployment was to Iraq in 2003, where he earned several individual decorations, and his forward surgical team was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. His second deployment was to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center to care for the wounded returning from the combat theatre. He discusses “Military Medicine in the Global War on Terrorism: Our Success and Our Failures,” focusing on how well we are doing in-theatre treating wounded, and where we are falling short back home with services for returning soldiers and veterans.
John Rahill is the Chief of Safety and a full-time F-16 pilot for the 158th Fighter Wing of the Vermont Air National Guard. He earned his commission from Officer Training School in 1989 and his first assignment was as an Intelligence Officer at Howard Air Force Base in Panama, reporting just three weeks after the start of Operation Just Cause. He was an Instructor Pilot in the T-38 supersonic jet trainer at Columbus AFB MS for five years and an F-16 Instructor Pilot in the Air Force for four years, before joining the Vermont Air National Guard in 2000. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 military flight hours, and has been deployed to “Southwest Asia” four times. He speaks about avenues to joining the military, fighter pilot training and what training for a combat deployment involves. John describes the types of missions he has flown in Iraq, how Close Air Support can help shape the battlespace and help out the ground forces, some capabilities of the F-16, and some personal experiences and reflections.
“Bunge” Cook was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1998. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, serving as an Infantry Platoon and Weapons Company Commander in South Korea, China and Japan. In 2001, he participated in the invasion of Afghanistan as Aide to the Commander of Task Force 58. From 2002 to 2003, he reported to the 1st Marine Division, which conducted the invasion of Iraq and continued to provide stability operations. In 2006, he was named Commander of Lima Company, 1st Marines, leading the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s clearing
operations into a long-time Al Queda stronghold in Al Anbar Province. Maj. Cook presents a slide presentation of his service in Iraq and discusses the nature of U.S. involvement, focusing on his involvement in the recent “surge.”
Williams College Alumni Relations
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