HBS Students with Military Service in support of the Iraq and Afghanistan Campaigns
James F. Adamouski (HBS ’05), Captain, U.S. Army
A 1995 West Point graduate and helicopter pilot, Adamouski had been admitted to HBS but had not yet matriculated when he died in the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter (which he was not piloting) on April 2, 2003, near Karbala, Iraq. He has been named an honorary alumnus by the School.
Peter E. Bailey (HBS ’05), Captain, U.S. Army
Served in Kuwait and Iraq from February to July 2003, providing intelligence and threat analysis in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Awarded Army Commendation Medal.
R. Cordell Bennigson (HBS ’05) Captain U.S. Marine Corps
Harrier pilot. Air Officer Forward for the First Marine Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Served in Middle East from November 2002 to May 2003.
Scott R. Blackburn (HBS ’05), Captain, U.S. Army
Signal Officer. Led a cross-functional team into Afghanistan to establish a tactical air picture for units conducting combat operations during Operation Anaconda (February–March 2002), for which he was awarded the Joint Service Achievement Medal.
Erik Gunnar Counselman (HBS ’05), Captain U.S. Marine Corps
Human Intelligence Officer. Served as human intelligence and analysis officer in Kuwait and Iraq from October 2002 to June 2003.
Gregory H. Fairbank (HBS ’04), Captain, U.S. Army
Defense Intelligence Agency counterterrorism analyst in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Served from November 2001 to November 2002.
Jake H. Heller (HBS ’05), Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
Special Warfare officer. Led all Special Boat assets in clandestine seizure of Iraq’s off-shore oil terminals and cleared Iraqi waterways for delivery of humanitarian aid. Service from September to December 2001 (off Iraq, Afghanistan) and September 2002 to April 2003 (off Iraq). Awarded Navy Achievement Medal.
John M. Nix (HBS ’04), Chief Warrant Officer 4, U.S. Army
Air Mission Commander/Standardization Instructor Pilot. Deployed to Afghanistan October–December 2001 to conduct multinational combat flight operations in Soviet MI-17 helicopter, support U.S. Special Operations Forces, and coordinate follow-on special missions unit deployment. Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross.
Kurt J. Scherer (HBS ’04), Captain, U.S. Marine Corps
AH-1W Cobra helicopter pilot, intelligence officer. Participation in initial actions in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Conducted air support and recon in Kandahar area from December 2001 to February 2002. Operated from USS Bataan off coast of Pakistan from February 2002 to June 2002.
Richard S. Whiteley (HBS ’05) Lieutenant Commander U.S. Navy
Deployed July 2002 through May 2003 aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Flew combat missions in F/A-18E Super Hornet and F/A-18C Hornet in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Awarded the Individual Air Medal and the Strike-Flight Air Medal, among other commendations.
Additional Alumni with Iraq or Afghanistan Service
Gerald E. (“Jay”) Hedley (MBA ’01), Major Maryland Air National Guard
Fighter pilot, A-10 Thunderbolt II (“Warthog”). Flew 85 combat missions from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, from January 2003 to June 2003. Earned Air Medal four times.
John A. Hollstein (MBA ’74), Colonel (retired) U.S. Air Force Reserve
Former chief of monitoring for UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency during two four-month tours in Baghdad between 1994 and 1997. Returned to Baghdad last June and July to assist with search for WMD.
Christopher B. Howard (MBA ’03), Major, U.S Air Force
Chief of Human Intelligence Operations Cell for Combined Joint Task Force 180 and also worked with Defense Intelligence Agency, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, September 2003 to January 2004.
Ennis C. (“Jim”) Whitehead III (MBA ’82) Brigadier General, U.S. Army
Reserve Assigned in 2003 responsibility for ports in Kuwait and convoys carrying equipment and supplies to units in Iraq.
Above listings are incomplete and only a sampling of HBS student and alumni service. For those not included, the Bulletin welcomes further information about them to post on its Web site.
