Gulf War platoon leader proud to lead veterans parade

The courage and determination in the faces of 95 young soldiers facing the unknown in the deserts of Iraq is forever etched in the memory of Chief Warrrant Officer 5 James Rathburn.

It’s one of the memories he holds close to his heart, and one that he was thinking of Thursday when he served as Grand Marshal of the 5th Annual Enterprise Veterans Parade. The theme for this year’s parade was “The Gulf War.”

Rathburn, the Academic Chief of the Warrant Officer Career Center on Fort Rucker, said he’s proud to represent the soldiers of the Gulf War and all other soldiers from every era that have served their country in wartime and peacetime.

Rathburn is also proud to have been a part of the parade honoring America’s heroes, the men and women who have served before and after him.

Serving as grand marshal of the parade was a special treat for Rathburn. On active duty for the past 38 years, he has deployed all over the world and has now chosen to make Enterprise his permanent home when he retires in the near future. He was introduced to the area several years ago by his son, Ronald, who settled here after serving in the Army for a short time. It was not until Rathburn came to the Warrant Officer Academy last year, however, that he understood why his son’s family fell in love with the local area.

“It’s the people,” said Rathburn, born in Korea, the son of an Army soldier. He grew up primarily in Kansas.

“I’ve traveled all over the United States and I didn’t think this culture still existed. Where else but small-town America can you see the patriotism, the values … from the older generation down to the younger generation?” the enthusiastic academic chief said.

For Rathburn, the family atmosphere, reasonable cost of living, good climate, excellent location and other Enterprise-area attributes all played a part in his decision, but by far, he said, “it’s the people that made me realize that this was going to be home for me.”

Rathburn said he takes pride in being a soldier, an “ambassador” to America. “It’s not a job; it’s a profession,” he said, and one that he never took more seriously than when he was a young Chief Warrant Officer 2 in Iraq in January 1991.

Assigned as the Direct Support Automotive Technician for the 183rd Maintenance Company, Rathburn was tasked with choosing 50 soldiers from among his 95 soldiers to form “Task Force Hart” and push forward into Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division.

Armed with the mighty M-1 Abrams battle tank and the M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles, the 1st Cav was expected to confront the elite Iraqi force, the Republican Guard.

The Republican Guard had a reputation as fierce fighters and had the Soviet-built T-72 tank, which boasted a longer firing range than the American tanks.

“We had heard a lot about the Republican Guard. They knew they were facing danger; they knew there was a possibility we could get hammered, but there was pride and patriotism in that group,” Rathburn said of his 95 soldiers, his eyes glistening with held-back tears of respect. “I asked for volunteers – and every one of them volunteered.”

As a support group, the task force was to maintain the tanks, but they would be traveling in “soft shell” humvees, not armored, protected vehicles.

“There was definitely a fear of the unknown, but our guys overcame the fear of the unknown … every one stepped up.”

Rathburn chose the 50 from among the volunteers, and as history relates, the Republican Guard and Iraqi forces provided little resistance. In fact, Rathburn said the 1st Cav soon had to shift much of its focus to managing the Iraqi soldiers surrendering to them in overwhelming numbers.

Rathburn said the Gulf War taught many lessons, particularly in utilizing all of the resources in the Department of Defense Framework, including National Guard, Reserves, aviation, ground forces, etc.

“It demonstrated the superior combat power of the United States and how powerful we are as a joint force,” he said.

Later in 1991, a senior officer would say that Rathburn’s organizational and direct support maintenance of more than 450 vehicles was critical to the 1st Cavalry’s offensive success in Iraq.

Since the Gulf War, Rathburn has continued to serve with distinction in deployments all over the world, including Kosovo, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq, and assisted in the military’s recovery effort after Hurricane Katrina.

Rathburn said his most rewarding assignment was more than eight years in Special Operations Command as Commander of a Joint Special Operations Support Detachment. During that time, he deployed numerous times to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the Special Operations Command and Central Command Soldiers deployed in 11 locations in those countries.

As the dean of academic instruction at the Warrant Officer Career Center since last year, Rathburn is enjoying working with active and retired instructors in providing professional military education in developing the Army’s future Warrant Officer Leaders, who range from warrant officer candidates to senior warrants.

When he’s not working Rathburn enjoys spending time with his son’s family, including four grandchildren. He also serves as president of the local United States Army Warrant Officer Association.