Special Guests

CSM Butler J. Kendrick
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LTC Steven L. Baker
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LTC Steven Alexander Baker hails from Baltimore, Maryland.  He was commissioned as an Engineer from the United States Military Academy in 1988 as a distinguished cadet in the top third of his class academically, physically and in leadership.  His first assignment was in Germany with the 547^th Engineer Battalion where he served as a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer and Assistant Operations Officer prior to being deployed to OPERATION DESERT STORM in 1991.  Upon redeployment he assisted in the inactivation of the 547^th and returned to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri for the Officer Advanced School and was subsequently assigned as the Supply Officer, Assistant Division Engineer LNO and  A Company Commander for the 307^th Engineer Battalion, 82^nd Airborne Division.  There he participated in Hurricane Andrew Relief as well as the preparation and launch for an airborne assault into Haiti which turned around in flight.  Next, Baker was assigned a second command as the Commander of the Advanced Airborne School charged with Jumpmaster, Airborne Refresher and Air Movement Operations Training for the entire XVIIIth Airborne Corps.  After 18 months at the University of Florida, LTC Baker earned a Master of Civil Engineering and was assigned to the New York District of the Corps of Engineers and the Resident Engineer for Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.  While there he completed a wide array of military and civil works projects that took him from the beaches of New Jersey to Greenland, Germany, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo.  After Command and General Staff College, he returned to the 307^th Engineer Battalion and deployed as the Operations Officer and then as the CJTF-180 C-7.  Upon redeployment, he attended the Armed Forces Joint Staff College and was subsequently sent to Joint Task Force – North in El Paso, Texas where he became Chief of Tunnel Detection Operations and also a staff engineer responsible for millions of dollar worth of barrier construction on our Nation’s borders.  There he was selected to command the 508^th Special Troops Battalion in 4^th Brigade Combat Team of the 82^nd Airborne Division where he commanded more than 700 personnel for 25 months, 15 of them in combat in Afghanistan.  He is currently the Deputy Commander for the 20^th Engineer Brigade (C) (A) at Fort Bragg, NC.

            LTC Baker is a Master Rated Jumpmaster and Ranger.  His awards and decorations include:  Bronze Star Medal (1OLC), Purple Heart, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLCs), Army Commendation Medal (4 OLCs), Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Overseas Service Medal (1OLC), NATO Medal, Kosovo Service Medal (2 OLCs), Saudi Arabian Liberation Medal, Defense of Kuwait Medal, and the Combat Action Badge.  His foreign awards include the NATO MSM, Honduran and German Airborne Wings, the German Commando Badge, and the Premysl Otakar II. Kral Zelezny A Zlaty Commemorative Badge from the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces. 

            LTC Baker is married to the former Gwen Zemaitis who recently relinquished command of the Philadelphia District of the US Army Corps of Engineers and has now retired to take a job in the construction industry.  They have two children, Sean, 18, and Samantha, 14.