If you’ve passed through the history hallway over the past couple of weeks , you may have noticed a different face in room 103. That’s because Mr. Colton recently took a few weeks off to go to France with the US Army.

  After becoming an officer in response to the September 11th attacks and more than eighteen years of military assignments during both peace and wartime as Field Artillery, Military Police, Company Commander, Battalion Officer, and Battalion Intelligence Officer, Mr. Richard Colton has worked his way up from Private to Major.

  This year his army involvement brought him to France to to participate in multinational exercise, led by the French, called “Citadel Bonus”. The mission itself was described by Mr. Colton to be “an imagined response to a hypothetical independence movement in a European country fomented with the help an unnamed country whose name rhymes with ‘Thrussia’”.

  In his role of Senior Logistics and Personnel Officer for the American brigade, Mr. Colton was working with his counterparts in a Dutch brigade, a Royal Armoured British regiment, and a French Rapid Deployment brigade.

  Arriving in Paris November 29th and returning December 15th, much of his days were spent inside a Tactical Operations Center planning convoys and movements, or responding to emergencies. He said that, although the first days of the mission moved slowly, once the ‘fighting’ began it became more fast-paced.

  Mr. Colton remarked that this year’s mission differs significantly than a similar one last year in Albania. “The Albanians made up for their lack of training, doctrine, and equipment with eagerness and spirit, the western militaries with whom I’m working now are more or less on par with NATO standards…These guys and girls are the real deal,” said Colton.

  When asked if he enjoyed participating in exercises such as “Citadel Bonus,” he jokingly responded by saying that he did because it’s a great chance for him to interact with different nationalities and convince them that the American way is the best way of doing things. More seriously though, he noted how humbled he was to be selected to represent his nation in an allied country during a mission like this.

  Of course this mission caused Mr. Colton to miss a little over a week of school, which he indicated was the worst part about going. He noted though that, even though he was absent at Eastern, specifically Mr. Young, the History Department supervisor, was great about giving him the time off and working to make sure there were no gaps in the material covered while he was away. It was very important to him that he got the days off from work because of a five year bet with Mr. Lindenhofen over which one of them will be the first to use a sick day.

  “Even though it’s tough missing school (except when I’m strolling down the Champs-Élysées or walking around Notre Dame),” he said, “ I figure being in Europe and working with Europeans adds value to my AP Euro program”.

  He concluded his interview with a message to students interested in joining the military, saying that, “Although it is not for everyone, if you feel like you are called to serve then you should approach it like a college search and make sure you find the military path that is the right one for you.”

  Though he served as a valuable asset to the mission in France, Eastern is certainly glad to have Mr. Colton back in room 103.