The View From the Front

Projects, Interests, and Musing from my Mastery Journey: https://www.facebook.com/armyrangerdan https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-albert-mba-84a348 My name is Dan Albert. I’m a husband, father of two, engineer, retired Army Ranger, and avid gym rat....

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Chapter Twelve – End Game

So, this week marks the end of not only my degree pursuits at Full Sail University, but the end of nearly three years of continuous academic endeavors. After May 5th, my wall will contain five college degrees and it will be up to me to put them to good use.

This month’s feature was kind of a capstone for the entire course of study. Internet Marketing Campaign Development took all the technical pieces that we’ve learned and attempted to mesh them into the greater concept of an internet marketing plan. All the case study projects that we prepared along the way were assembled into a contiguous document and pitch for the companies in question. Once graded, I will turn over the complete package to my case study company, VisualCue, who has been so supportive over the last year.

The focus for us as students, was to see the plan through the eyes of a marketer, not as a student. We discussed the art and science that is pitch development and the pros and cons of presenting before an audience. Fortunately, I’ve spent years in front of audiences and hopefully will never be cocky enough to think that I’m the slightest bit as important as the body I’m presenting to. Without them there is no us. Presentation is a use or lose it skill and requires constant attention to do it well. Like the rest of the world, it is also constantly changing. We can all still learn something new every day.

As the days have turned into weeks, and the weeks into months and years, I’ve tried to make sure that I haven’t lost my edge for studies, interaction, or a willingness to learn new things. The course of instruction at Full Sail has been superb and I’m looking forward to “getting out there” and flexing my newly found digital skills. It’s been a great ride, and the friendships and associations I’ve developed will not soon be forgotten.

Thank you to all involved and for all the support of my family and friends throughout.

Cheers,

Dan Albert

Orlando, Florida April 23, 2017

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Chapter 11 – This is not the end. It is the beginning.

Since next month I will be assembling my final Masters project, I’m going to assume this will constitute my final blog entry of my Mastery Journey. As opposed to most of my peers, my journey did not start last May, but closer to three years ago, in August 2014. In that period, I’ve added extensively to my educational resume, which now includes a BS, an MBA, and three Masters of Science (MS) degrees. As my GI Bill eligibility and funding draws to a close, I cannot help but feel truly grateful to all those who supported me in this journey, particularly my wife Katja. The whole adventure began because she saw a billboard next to the highway for an online MS in Hospitality Management.

Me: What’s up?

Her: Do you still have your GI Bill?

Me: Yes, they wouldn’t let me transfer it to the kids.

Her: There’s a billboard on I-4 for an online Hospitality degree.

Me: I’ll see what I can find out.

Three Masters and myriad topics later, I find myself studying the Internet and the law. Why? You may ask. Because it appears that marketing on the internet seems to be just as easy a place to get in trouble as anywhere else. Except, if you screw up in person, only a few people may know. If you screw up on the internet, everyone knows.

Our first week of class focused on jurisdiction and copyrights. Jurisdiction regarding what happens on the internet has evolved as the internet itself has. Consider a company headquartered in New York, that produces their products in China, runs their website out of Toronto, and has their customer service desk in Bangalore. You buy a faulty product…now what!? This is just a small taste of the potential complexities of internet jurisdiction. When it comes to copyright, it was an enlightening experience to see why and how far people should and will go to protect their intellectual property (IP). From software, to movies, to images, to music, books, choreography, etc. There are an enormous number of things covered under copyright law, and it’s important to know what is ok to do on the internet when it comes to copyrighted material. We also learned about public domain ad Creative Commons where one can get material free of charge and royalty free. Honestly, the material was three miles wide and half an inch deep, but let’s face it, I don’t expect to come away with a JD in 4 weeks (it should take at least 12 J).

Week two focused on cybercrimes and spam. We discovered that cybercrimes are plentiful and despite comparatively strict laws in place, it’s nearly impossible to catch, let alone prosecute, cybercriminals. It does happen, but not as often as most people would like. As for spam, it appears to have a great similarity to the Force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the internet together. The project was actually a presentation on why our case study companies can benefit from implementing a spam-based marketing campaign. Fascinating.

Week three included a philosophical discussion on privacy in the workplace and the elements that constitute a proper privacy policy for a website.

Finally, this week concludes the course with a discussion of what constitutes defamation online (which seems to invariably involve Courtney Love and Twitter), and the elements for a proper Terms of Use statement that protects our companies, but no one ever actually reads.

The journey from beginning to end has been delightful. The work at times was challenging, but never overwhelming. The reward of how many new things I’ve packed into my brain housing group is priceless. In some ways, I’ll miss the daily academic rigor, but I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Dan Albert

Orlando, Florida

March 22, 2017

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Chapter 10 – The Beginning of The End

As my Mastery Journey starts to wind down (just two courses to go), find myself looking back over entire adventure. For the one or two of you that read this blog, it appears that I’m completing a one-year Master’s degree. The rest of the story is that this is the end of three back-to-back Master’s degrees (plus the one I already had). Statistically speaking, I’m probably in the top group of people who have higher education. “Four Master’s Degrees!? Are you nuts!?” Maybe a bit. However, when I researched DBA and PhD programs before I started, it looked like I’d be spending the same amount of time learning less, and I didn’t see employment prospects that justified the “bang for the buck”. People thought I should do it for the title of “Doctor”. My Dad was a Doctor (the kind that save people’s lives). Besides, I’ve already had the cool titles: “C.O. (Commanding Officer)”, “Colonel”, “Daddy”, and husband. If at some point I decide to pursue additional higher education, I’ll put PhD at the top of the list. For now, I’m much happier with the additional skill sets. My education so far looks like this:

Master of Science (MS), major in Internet Marketing - May 2017 - Full Sail University – Winter Park, Florida

Master of Science (MS), major in International Real Estate - 2016 - Florida International University, Hollo School of Real Estate – Miami, Florida

Master of Science (MS), major in Hospitality Management - 2016 - Florida International University, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management – Miami, Florida

Master of Business Administration (MBA), major in International Management - 1999 - Thunderbird School of Global Management – Glendale, Arizona

Bachelor of Science in Engineering, major in Geography & Computer Science - 1988 - United States Military Academy – West Point, New York

Certified US Military Linguist (Japanese) (Immersive Language Training, 15 months) - 1997 - Defense Language Institute and Foreign Language Center – Presidio of Monterey, CA

US Army Command and General Staff College (Executive Management, 12 months) – 2003

Presented this way it already looks crazy, but doesn’t even include the vast majority of my military schooling and certifications (Ranger, Master Parachutist, Air Assault, etc.) which account for several more years of formal education. All in all, it’s been a blast so far.

This month’s course was a fascinating primer in online analytics. There was a lot of reading (a bit dated overall) but this is the only course that has also offered a certification. It was a relatively simple process, but I’m no less excited to add Google Analytics (GAIQ) to my resume. Not only is it a valuable skill to have, but I foresee needing it in the event I transition to another career in the coming months.

I realize this monthly blog entry is general meant to reflect on the past four weeks of academics, but as the light at the end of the tunnel becomes more visible, it’s equally important to reflect on the entire journey. My one hope for now is that the light isn’t an oncoming train. 

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Chapter 9 – When it hits the fan

This month’s course was in Public Relations. Though a close relative of marketing, the course was a bit of a departure from the previous eight months.

To me, marketing seems more direct than PR. Public Relations is more about how the entire company is perceived to everyone versus just the target market. Calling PR “spin” is unfair, though spin can clearly be part of Public Relations. The course started out very much in the direction of establishing the difference between the two, and it all has to do with ethics.

 Though people generally try to do their best to put a good face on a bad situation, at some point it becomes the proverbial “lipstick on a pig” and everyone can see it. In our 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year news cycle, firms, organizations, and individuals have become increasingly sensitive to how easy it is to create a public relations disaster. Whether it’s Charlie Sheen going off on his latest drunk and alcohol soaked bender, or the owner of a Dairy Queen calling a young mother the n-word in front of her children, our plugged-in world spreads the word for good or ill, quickly and effectively. It’s the public relations experts that can either capitalize on the good news or get to deal with the carnage left behind.

 This course featured a group project in crisis communications, where we got to assess what happens in the real world when “it hits the fan”. Our case was from an incident earlier this month where as I mentioned before, the owner of an Illinois Dairy Queen called a woman a racial slur in front of her children when she had the audacity to point out mistakes with her order. To Dairy Queen’s credit, their corporate response was quick and definitive. Both the corporate office and the owner in questioned issued unmitigated apologies, and the franchise was revoked, immediately shuttering the restaurant. In follow-on interviews, it appears this individual made a habit of using these kinds of insults, so the incident may have been inevitable. The Dairy Queen Headquarters and PR Team were on top of the issue before it could become the potential PR nightmare it was brewing to be.

 All in all, it was an interesting month and definitely gave me a few new skills to add to my marketing professional bag of tricks.

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Chapter 8 - Meat and Potatoes

To say that I was excited to finally get some formal instruction in search engine optimization (SEO) would be an understatement. As much as I liked my other courses and find their content useful, I found SEO to be indispensable. I’m looking very much forward to applying the ideas from this course to create explosive growth at VisualCue.

What is SEO you ask? In short, it’s the art and science of getting your stuff to show on Google search results, or as I call it, the meat and potatoes of internet marketing.

Google searches work with keywords. Keywords are the words that you think people will use to find information about something. For instance, if you type in “DNA test” you’ll probably get links from Ancestry.com and 23andme.com, as well as other related sites like those used to establish paternity. Week 1 of the SEO course was spent in deep contemplation of keywords. Which were the most important words I needed to use so that internet users could find my case study company VisualCue?

While keywords are all well and good, everything goes back to content. Like every form of media (newspapers, magazines, TV, movies, etc.), content is king. People (internet users, customers) need to have a good reason to come and return to your website. A website that provides relevant, high quality content gives them that reason.

Week 2 focused on search engine marketing (SEM) or what people commonly call Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns. These are the first few Google results that have the green “Ad” logo on them. Companies bid on certain words to get the ads to appear first. If the user clicks on the link, the company pays Google for the traffic. Specific words or phrases can be cheap (a few cents per click) to very expensive (the word “insurance” costs the company whose ad is selected $54.91 per click) (WordStream 2016).

The features for week 3 were link building (a major component for determining the relevance and quality of websites) and optimizing website architecture for SEO. The number of common mistakes on websites that mess up people’s chances to be found on Google is actually pretty impressive. For example, leaving an old copy of a webpage on the server allows Google to index it two times at half the score for each webpage copy.

Finally, week 4’s project was all about local search, or “what do I need to do to get people nearby to walk through the door of my business?”. The project featured a variety of good ideas and easy errors when it comes to generating business locally.

 References

WordStream. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://www.wordstream.com/articles/most-expensive-keywords

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Chapter 7 - Strategy, Advanced Style

This month’s course in Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies built on the myriad things I’ve learned over the last six months and continues to be a daily source of enlightenment. As each month passes, the big picture of a complete marketing strategy gets easier to see.

The course started out delving into the psyche of the four unique personality types in marketing: Competitive, Spontaneous, Humanistic, and Methodical. As marketing really boils down to a giant practical exercise in psychology, it was fascinating to develop ads for the same product that would appeal to each personality. Wisely, the ads were in a fixed format. In one headline and two descriptive lines (each with limited characters), we had to create search engine marketing (SEM) type ads that can work in an online campaign. For example, for the spontaneous personality, the ad needed to appeal to a knee jerk type reaction from a customer. The ad for came out as: Fastest data analytics, Get results from your data now, Deliver analytics at a glance. The headline and the text were specifically chosen to appeal to the customer who needs a solution “right now!”.

In the second week, the class focus turned to conversion (the process of turning a curious onlooker into a customer) and site testing. Every element of a website can be used to convince a user to try out or buy a product, sign up for a subscription, vote a certain way, etc. This week was about the different ways to test those elements. The most common test is called the A/B test. Users are presented with the same web page with a single change made (hence, the A version and the B version). Whichever version has more success gets kept and a new element is modified. Making multiple changes at the same time requires multivariate (MVT) testing. The math is more complicated, but online tools are available to still help determine which version is better and why.

Week three’s focus was looking for a place to put up display ads and try to get the most bang for the buck. Based on the focus of my case study company VisualCue as a tool to work with SalesForce (Customer Relationship Management software), CRM magazine presented itself as the best option.

In week 4, it all goes together into a single, integrated action plan. VisualCue is excited to get the results!

[armyairbornerangerdan]

New Media Marketing - Going social to find new business

I’m not going to lie. Things are starting to get pretty cool. The more I learn about Internet Marketing, the more fascinating I find it. I’m also starting to notice more and more internet related marketing going on every day. It’s also become increasingly easy to spot the good from the bad. It’s been a lot of work, but this month’s course in New Media Marketing has been so worth it. I’ve learned a lot, but the life changing takeaway has been by introduction to the value of podcasts. Holy cow! I am now subscribed to three different internet marketing podcasts. I’m learning real world, bleeding edge marketing from the top people in the field, in addition to the rock solid grounding I’m getting from an extraordinarily talented group of educators at Full Sail.

On an exciting note for me, the company I’ve been focusing on for my case study, VisualCue (www.visualcue.com) has started implementing some of my recommended changes on their website. I hope they’re making the changes because they think it’s the right way to go, and not just taking a shot in the dark :). The changes I recommended were relatively easy to make, and most to this point were straight usability fixes. Pretty soon I hope to be able to offer them changes “under the covers” that will boost their Google scores. In the industry, they call is “SEO”, Search Engine Optimization. Just think of it as “Google Juice”. The better your website looks to Google, the farther up the page your company goes. If you can get yourself on or near the top of the search results, you can change the life of your company. If a customer can’t find you, they can’t buy your product.

I spent a lot of this course learning about influencers. Influencers are the experts in your sector that everyone trusts and listens to. These days they’re highly connected online and can shift the direction of a business with a Tweet or a mention on Facebook. Social media marketing isn’t the end all be all of marketing, but its level of influence shouldn’t be discounted. I’ve found the big influencers that can help VisualCue, now the trick will be to get them to take a good look at VisualCue. One Tweet can change the future for the whole company, and maybe even me too!

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Don’t Make Them Think – Chapter 5

For the last four weeks, the class content has been on web design and usability. I knew that there were things called that, but it never really occurred to me why things are the way they are, and how you can tell the difference between a good website and a bad website. I think we all know good and bad websites when we see them. Typically, we see a bad website for only a few seconds, then find something else to do (in the industry, that’s known as “bouncing”) on a better site. With at least 4.7 billion pages to choose from (WWWSize 2016), the odds are pretty good of finding something better.

My goal for this four weeks has been to start a process to turn a passable website into a good website (usability). Simultaneously, I learned the basics of how to get users to come to a website (search engine optimization / SEO), find what they need, and keep them coming back (findability). The process of getting my case study company (VisualCue.com) from where they are now, to where they need to be is going to a long road. The good news is, they have some really talented folks and good designers. Many of the website “fixes” will be easy for the company to execute (I just have to hope they take my advice as a relative Internet Marketing novice).

From changing the way the menus look to adding more user input and testimonials, each step in the process should cause the website to be a little more usable and a little more findable on the Internet. Currently, without knowing the name in advance, VisualCue.com is virtually impossible to find through the use of an online search engine (i.e. Google, Bing, Ask, etc.). Under the hood (so to speak), I’m planning to have them make some improvements to not only the content of the website, but how the search engines see and index it (part of the SEO process). Combining these upgrades with active participation in the online community through social media, blogs, etc., VisualCue.com will create more connections to itself from other websites. The more connections, the better the search engines can find them.

So, what’s the bottom line of my continuing mastery adventure these last four weeks you may ask? Make the website findable on the internet and convince people to stay there and use it (aka buy or use your) by making the site “user friendly”. If a user can’t find your product, they can’t buy your product (BizFilings 2012).

References:

Business Activity Monitoring Platform | VisualCue. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2016, from http://visualcue.com/

Can't Buy Your Product If They Don't Know It Exists. (2012, May 24). Retrieved September 25, 2016, from http://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/sbg/marketing/advertising-pr/marketing-program-planning.aspx

The size of the World Wide Web (The Internet). (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2016, from http://www.worldwidewebsize.com/

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Getting In Their Heads: Chapter 4

The past four weeks in my Mastery Journey have been enlightening. The course for this month has been Consumer Behavior and Analysis. In short, we’ve looked at a variety of reasons for what consumers to and why. More specifically, we’ve discussed how to take advantage of a better understanding of our potential customers. Do you ever wonder why the ads you see in the margins of Facebook seem so interesting? This is the course that teaches the basics of how and why you see those ads.

In the first week’s content, we walked through the individual consumer process that starts with them identifying that they have a need for a product or service, and continuing all the way through product purchase and beyond. As an example, I used the project of my classmate Jerry Burns, who wants more customers to come to his gym, Select Fitness. My example went step-by-step through the purchase process: 1. I feel fat (there’s a problem I recognize). 2. Where can I go to feel better? What are all the options? (research) 3. What variables will influence my decision? 4. Which product/service options are important to me? 5. How do I make the purchase? 6. Was this a good idea in the first place? I’m paraphrasing the process, of course, but the process always applies regardless of product or service.

Week two was a look at psychographics, or what interests, morals, attitudes, or opinions are common to people who buy different products and services. Normally people consider demographics (age, sex, income, location, etc.) for selling products, but knowing how people think and how that correlates to a product purchase is equally if not more valuable in the marketplace. Taking these ideas into consideration, we helped classmates analyze what attitudes, etc., that their customers have in common and if/how leveraging that knowledge is possible. We also took a close look at what was special that each of our case study companies brought to the table (known as the Unique Value Proposition). Without specifically knowing what makes a product special, it’s nearly impossible to tell others why they need it. 

Weeks three and four focused on marketing to our potential customers by getting them to generate content (comments, videos, etc.) and retargeting (reminder ads on other websites) them to generate more or recurring interest in our products and services. These concepts allow companies and marketers to let their imaginations run wild in the pursuit of customer relationships, and ultimately sales.

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Telling the Story: Chapter 3

Every four weeks I hit the last week of a class and dread the required Tumblr posting. Then I look back at how much I’ve learned in the ensuing weeks and end up enjoying it anyway! This iteration was no different. The feature for this month was diving into Digital Storytelling and Branding. In a word, fascinating!

Through readings, discussions, and videos, we delved into the way companies and products can deliver their unique message in the way of stories. Remaining focused on our individual companies, we started out with what in marketing are known as the “Three Little Questions”. They are: Who are you? What do you do? And, why does it matter? Interestingly, the vast majority of companies very easily answer questions one and two but get stumped by number three. What a giant question to consider! As far as your service or widget is concerned, what difference does it make? I not only enjoyed the mental gymnastics but was also better able to grasp the underlying purposes of the company I am focusing on during my course of study (VisualCue.com).

The second week focused on brand voice and we started off discussing the pros and cons of Target and Walmart. Ostensibly, they are enormously similar companies. However, the way they portray themselves (their “voice”) comes off entirely different. They represent themselves as different as their in-house restaurants do (McDonald’s at Walmart, and Starbucks at Target). Is it a bunch of pretentious hooey? Probably. Does it get customers through the door? Definitely. Week two also featured a project in the Pecha Kucha style. Twenty slides, twenty seconds per slide. No more, no less. A bit like Haiku for the PowerPoint/Keynote generation. It was an interesting way to pitch the brand voice of VisualCue, and I may try to work it in in the future.

Week three drew us into telling the brand story, with some excellent examples from prior students. By the end of the week, we each created our own two-minute video telling the story of our brand (hope I got it right J). Sitting back down in front of Adobe Premiere Pro after having not touched it in many months felt great. The creative juices were flowing!

Finally, this week is the big project for the course, coming up with the brand strategy for our companies. This will most likely come out as a 15 to 20-page paper, but as with all the projects, it’s allowing us to focus all the pieces and parts of internet marketing on the company of our choice. It’s a lot of work, but I really feel like I get something out of every piece. It’s not even Wednesday, and I actually have a pretty good handle on where I’m going with this one!

[armyairbornerangerdan]

The Journey Continues: Chapter 2

I’ve spent the last four weeks starting to grasp what the Internet Marketing Master of Science is all about. Though I’ve been drinking from the firehose of knowledge, the weeks have flown by and I feel that I’m getting an initial grip on the material.

We didn’t waste a single minute this month, with selecting companies that we will focus on for the rest of the year. The end product will be a complete internet marketing plan for whichever company we’ve chosen to represent. The exciting part for me was being able to choose VisualCue, a big data company partially owned by my friend Daniel Amato. My e-mail recommending that his company be the beneficiary of my project got me a lunch with the CEO, an intro to the CMO, and a promise of support should I need it. While I’m hoping not to lean on them at all, it’s nice to know they are supportive of my efforts. 

This class in Internet Marketing Fundamentals has gotten my imagination energized. From developing a scorecard for VisualCue’s website in comparison to several competitors to a company SWOT analysis to discussions of retargeting, each precept built on the ones that preceded it. Despite my heavy use of every variety of software, I used Keynote for the first time! I found it a valuable asset and look forward to adding it to my professional “bag of tricks”.  

One other discussion I enjoyed this course was on the topic of click fraud (or how people rip off marketing companies by engineering overcharging for website referrals). It’s certainly something that can be applied at any company that engages in pay-per-click or similar marketing. VisualCue can potentially reap the rewards of knowing that click fraud is a major problem in the digital space.

The last four weeks have been an excellent learning experience and have formed a rudimentary foundation for all the course yet to come. To use the current terminology. I. Am. Excited!

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Every weekday morning when I walk into the gym at 5:00 am, this is my mantra. My 18-year-old son is currently serving a two year Church mission in Ukraine. He is also working hard to get himself in the best shape he can. My objective is to have him get off the plane, see how hard I’ve also worked to better myself, give me a big hug, and say “Wow!”

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Congressional Medal of Honor Citations

With Memorial Day just past us, I’m inspired by those that gave their last full measure of devotion to protect the freedoms we take for granted every day.

The only two people ever to receive the 

Medal of Honor while serving their country as snipers.

MEDALS OF HONOR AWARDED FOR ACTION IN SOMALIA*GORDON, GARY I.

Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army.

Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia.

Born: Lincoln, Maine.

Citation: Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

*SHUGHART, RANDALL D.

Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army.

Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia.

Born: Newville, Pennsylvania.

Citation: Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

The asterisk ( * ) indicates the honor was awarded posthumously.

[armyairbornerangerdan]

Just in case my SlideSnack link isn’t working. Enjoy!

[armyairbornerangerdan]

My course of study for the next year at Full Sail University. I will graduate in May or June of 2017 with an Internet Marketing Master of Science degree!

[armyairbornerangerdan]

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-albert-mba-84a348

[armyairbornerangerdan]

An endless number of great feeds on Feedly.com!