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ENLARGE
Fallon's Chris Webb with her brother Glen Rigdon
Glen Rigdon has no regrets in life, especially when it comes to serving his country.
After receiving his high school diploma in 1990, Rigdon enlisted in the U.S. Navy and sailed the seas for a decade.
Now, at the age of 37, Rigdon felt something was still missing from his life, and he embarked on a trail two years ago to rectify that dilemma.
He recently completed the Nevada Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant along with three other cadets. His next step will be to complete his military branch training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. Rigdon is assigned to the 72nd Military Police Co., in Las Vegas.
The oldest child of seven, Chris Webb of Fallon, said the family is proud of her younger brother.
“I think it's outstanding,” said Webb, Banner Churchill Community Hospital's emergency department director. “He got out of the Navy after 10 years and always regretted not going back as an officer, but now he is completing a goal.”
The thought of her brother being deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan is a concern, but the family is philosophical about any future deployments in a war zone.
Rigdon is in law enforcement, patrolling the Silver State's highways.
“His primary employer is a (Nevada) Highway Patrol trooper, which is also a dangerous job,” she quickly pointed out.
Either way, Webb said her brother loves his two jobs, both of which require him to be on the front lines.
Rigdon's 10 years in the Navy gave the Nevada native an inside view on worldwide events. He served with VF-154 (F-14 Tomcats) on board the aircraft carrier USS Independence, was attached to the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department in Atsugi, Japan, and with the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands at Kauai, Hawaii. He also participated in Desert Storm, Southern Watch.
Rigdon separated from the Navy and taught English in Japan, where he met his wife. He eventually returned to Nevada, took the test to become a trooper, attended the NHP academy and was then assigned to Indian Springs. He now resides in North Las Vegas.
The yearning to become an office never vacated Rigdon's dreams, and he enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard's OCS program where he had to compete with younger soldiers.
“The hardest was the transition from Navy to Army,” Rigdon said. “It was also pretty physically demanding for my age. And staying awake during class with what little sleep we had was tough.”
Rigdon said the easiest part about OCS was teamwork because everyone wanted to be in the program and achieve the same goals.
“In OCS, I once again felt the camaraderie I've only ever experienced in the military,” he added.
Rigdon attended the accelerated program beginning with one weekend each month at the Stead Training Site north of Reno before completing the course in South Dakota.
Retired Brig. Gen. Randall Sayre, who served as Commander of the Army Guard, said he was proud of the cadets' accomplishments.
“I have the greatest love for the U.S. military and respect for those who engage in this institution. I would rather be in the presence of an American soldier and nowhere else,” he said.
Sayre said OCS is one of the most difficult schools the nation has and one of the hardest programs in the Nevada military.
Brig. Gen. Frank Gonzales, the current Commander of Army Guard, stood before the cadets, families and friends and told them he graduated exactly 30 years ago from OCS.
“I have the trust and confidence you have to lead,” he said.
Rigdon — along with Reno-based cadets Terence Sterba, David Paxton and Jeremiah McPherson — said a typical weekend consisted of the OCS staff trying to expose them “to every bit of training they could squeeze in” to prepare them for OCS.
TACs (tactical officers) focused on land navigation at Stead because it was one of the most challenging aspects facing cadets.
Yet, the real challenges occurred at Ft. Meade, S.D., a centralized National Army Guard site near Sturgis for officer candidate training.
Cadets from most Western states spent phases 1 and 2 at Ft. Meade and phase 3 at Camp Rapid in Rapid City.
“The candidates were charged with creating and running an FOB (forward operating base). All our field exercises were conducted from it,” Rigdon said. “I was assigned as platoon leader for a 48-hour period that included our platoon's assigned day to run the FOB while the other platoons were out on exercises.
“It was demanding. I was responsible for the accountability of all the candidates, their weapons and equipment. I also had to plot the other units locations on a master map.”
While at Ft. Meade, the cadets also visited the site of Little Big Horn on a staff ride to learn about the principles of war.
“The most important thing we learned from the staff ride was to listen to your intelligence,” Rigdon said. General (George) Custer would have fared better if he had listened to his Indian scouts. I had always envisioned the battle differently. Walking the battlefield really put things in perspective.”
The visit also reminded Rigdon when he visited one site that produced some of the bloodiest fighting during the latter part of World War II.
“While in the Navy, I was sent to Iwo Jima many times on detachment,” Rigdon said. “There is nothing like visiting a battlefield preserved as it was during the battle. All your senses are engaged and you gain a new perspective on what transpired.
Webb said the family always knew her brother would enlist in the military after high school, but they didn't realize he still wanted to serve in his late 30s.
“In high school, he and his buddies went camping, hunting and rappelling. They would leave Friday night and come back home Sunday,” Webb remembers.
Since the Minden-Gardnerville area is close to Markleville, Calif., a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Webb said the locale was perfect for the teenagers' own “military” training.
Succeeding at OCS didn't surprise Webb, either.
“Glen came from a family of seven. He liked everything neat and organized. Those were survival techniques,” she laughed.
Howard Rigdon, a retired Nevada Parole and Probation lieutenant, said his son was a good sailor, a good person and now a good trooper. He knows Glen will be an outstanding Army officer.
“He took this opportunity, and its unbelievable what he has done,” Howard said.
“He was the oldest grad in OCS. He's not a quitter, and he kicked ass. He will be good in the National Guard.”
Linda Rigdon said it is exciting that her son became an officer.
“I am proud of him. He wants to defend our country. Someone has to stand up and do it.”
After receiving his high school diploma in 1990, Rigdon enlisted in the U.S. Navy and sailed the seas for a decade.
Now, at the age of 37, Rigdon felt something was still missing from his life, and he embarked on a trail two years ago to rectify that dilemma.
He recently completed the Nevada Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant along with three other cadets. His next step will be to complete his military branch training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. Rigdon is assigned to the 72nd Military Police Co., in Las Vegas.
The oldest child of seven, Chris Webb of Fallon, said the family is proud of her younger brother.
“I think it's outstanding,” said Webb, Banner Churchill Community Hospital's emergency department director. “He got out of the Navy after 10 years and always regretted not going back as an officer, but now he is completing a goal.”
The thought of her brother being deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan is a concern, but the family is philosophical about any future deployments in a war zone.
Rigdon is in law enforcement, patrolling the Silver State's highways.
“His primary employer is a (Nevada) Highway Patrol trooper, which is also a dangerous job,” she quickly pointed out.
Either way, Webb said her brother loves his two jobs, both of which require him to be on the front lines.
Rigdon's 10 years in the Navy gave the Nevada native an inside view on worldwide events. He served with VF-154 (F-14 Tomcats) on board the aircraft carrier USS Independence, was attached to the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department in Atsugi, Japan, and with the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands at Kauai, Hawaii. He also participated in Desert Storm, Southern Watch.
Rigdon separated from the Navy and taught English in Japan, where he met his wife. He eventually returned to Nevada, took the test to become a trooper, attended the NHP academy and was then assigned to Indian Springs. He now resides in North Las Vegas.
The yearning to become an office never vacated Rigdon's dreams, and he enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard's OCS program where he had to compete with younger soldiers.
“The hardest was the transition from Navy to Army,” Rigdon said. “It was also pretty physically demanding for my age. And staying awake during class with what little sleep we had was tough.”
Rigdon said the easiest part about OCS was teamwork because everyone wanted to be in the program and achieve the same goals.
“In OCS, I once again felt the camaraderie I've only ever experienced in the military,” he added.
Rigdon attended the accelerated program beginning with one weekend each month at the Stead Training Site north of Reno before completing the course in South Dakota.
Retired Brig. Gen. Randall Sayre, who served as Commander of the Army Guard, said he was proud of the cadets' accomplishments.
“I have the greatest love for the U.S. military and respect for those who engage in this institution. I would rather be in the presence of an American soldier and nowhere else,” he said.
Sayre said OCS is one of the most difficult schools the nation has and one of the hardest programs in the Nevada military.
Brig. Gen. Frank Gonzales, the current Commander of Army Guard, stood before the cadets, families and friends and told them he graduated exactly 30 years ago from OCS.
“I have the trust and confidence you have to lead,” he said.
Rigdon — along with Reno-based cadets Terence Sterba, David Paxton and Jeremiah McPherson — said a typical weekend consisted of the OCS staff trying to expose them “to every bit of training they could squeeze in” to prepare them for OCS.
TACs (tactical officers) focused on land navigation at Stead because it was one of the most challenging aspects facing cadets.
Yet, the real challenges occurred at Ft. Meade, S.D., a centralized National Army Guard site near Sturgis for officer candidate training.
Cadets from most Western states spent phases 1 and 2 at Ft. Meade and phase 3 at Camp Rapid in Rapid City.
“The candidates were charged with creating and running an FOB (forward operating base). All our field exercises were conducted from it,” Rigdon said. “I was assigned as platoon leader for a 48-hour period that included our platoon's assigned day to run the FOB while the other platoons were out on exercises.
“It was demanding. I was responsible for the accountability of all the candidates, their weapons and equipment. I also had to plot the other units locations on a master map.”
While at Ft. Meade, the cadets also visited the site of Little Big Horn on a staff ride to learn about the principles of war.
“The most important thing we learned from the staff ride was to listen to your intelligence,” Rigdon said. General (George) Custer would have fared better if he had listened to his Indian scouts. I had always envisioned the battle differently. Walking the battlefield really put things in perspective.”
The visit also reminded Rigdon when he visited one site that produced some of the bloodiest fighting during the latter part of World War II.
“While in the Navy, I was sent to Iwo Jima many times on detachment,” Rigdon said. “There is nothing like visiting a battlefield preserved as it was during the battle. All your senses are engaged and you gain a new perspective on what transpired.
Webb said the family always knew her brother would enlist in the military after high school, but they didn't realize he still wanted to serve in his late 30s.
“In high school, he and his buddies went camping, hunting and rappelling. They would leave Friday night and come back home Sunday,” Webb remembers.
Since the Minden-Gardnerville area is close to Markleville, Calif., a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Webb said the locale was perfect for the teenagers' own “military” training.
Succeeding at OCS didn't surprise Webb, either.
“Glen came from a family of seven. He liked everything neat and organized. Those were survival techniques,” she laughed.
Howard Rigdon, a retired Nevada Parole and Probation lieutenant, said his son was a good sailor, a good person and now a good trooper. He knows Glen will be an outstanding Army officer.
“He took this opportunity, and its unbelievable what he has done,” Howard said.
“He was the oldest grad in OCS. He's not a quitter, and he kicked ass. He will be good in the National Guard.”
Linda Rigdon said it is exciting that her son became an officer.
“I am proud of him. He wants to defend our country. Someone has to stand up and do it.”
