Judge graduate becomes battalion commander

Intermountain Catholic

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LTC Robert Singler, is commissioned a U.S. Army 1st Battalion Commander.IC photo by Christine Young

BOUNTIFUL — Lieutenant Colonel Robert F. Singler, Jr., a Saint Olaf parishioner, was commissioned as the incoming Commander, 1st Battalion, of the U.S. Army 158th Aviation Regiment July 12.

LTC Singler was born at Hill Air Force Base while his father, Robert Singler, was in the Air Force. LTC Singlar attended Saint Olaf Elementary School, and graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City in 1980.

Singler was commissioned as a U.S. Army Aviation Officer through the Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) as a Distinguished Military Graduate of Utah State University in Logan, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology in June 1986. He also has a degree in Political Science.

Following graduation from Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training at Ft. Rucker, his early Aviation assignments included: Platoon Leader, 2nd GS Aviation Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey, Republic of Korea; Executive Officer, Platoon Leader; Asst S3/Flight Operations Officer 3-25th ASLT AVN BN, Ft. Drum, N.Y. Aircraft qualifications are TH-55, UH-1, OH-58A/C, AH-64A/D and FAA ratings in single and multi-engine fixed wing aircraft.

"The battalion I will be commanding has 500 people and is in Conrow, Texas," said Singler. "It is an attack helicopter battalion. So the type of aircraft we fly are AH-64 A/D Appache Longbow. The battalion is going through a fielding process for these helicopters, meaning receiving and training. There will eventually be 24 of these helicopters. It will be a two-year process of building these helicopters. At the end of the two years, the unit will be ready to deploy to either Iraq, Afghanistan, or where ever they are needed to fight in any kind of conflict our government asks of us.

"I came to this assignment after serving as an executive and operations officer of the 244th Aviation Brigade in Ft. Sheridan, Ill. While at FORSCOM I was deployed in 2006-2007 to the Theater of Operation as a FORSCOM Liaison (Forces Command), headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. From there I was deployed to Iraq to work with the JSCOM (Joint Forces Command) Enabler Assessment Team member for Aviation Assets in the Theater. Theater of Operations is Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan."

After completing Junior Company Grade Officer assignments, Singler attended the Infantry Officers Advance Course at Ft. Benning, Ga. Upon graduation, as a captain, he served in 4th CAB, 3rd Infantry Division, Katterbach, Germany. Following basic branch assignments, CPT Singler served in his functional area of Psychological Operations (PSYOP).

Since returning to active duty in the Active Guard Reserve (SGR) program in 2003, LTC Singler has served as Command Readiness Officer, 96th RRC, Salt Lake City; FORSCOM Aviation Resource Management Survey (ARMS) Team Chief.

"I did get off active duty in 1997, and worked for International Paper for a while, but I wanted to get back into flying," said Singler. "I came back to Utah and flew Apaches. From there I went to the 96th Regional Readiness Command in Salt Lake City at Fort Douglas, and I was mobilized in 2003, and consequently have been on active duty since then.

"Being in the military is an exciting life, but it is hard for a family because you move so often," said Singler. "Our children are getting older, and they want to stay in one school. Our son, Robert III is 14; our daughters, Mary Elizabeth is 11; and Christiana is 6. Robert will be in a high school in Conrow for two years, and hopefully another high school for two more years.

"It is also hard being separated from my family and from my wife, Nancy," said Singler. "But sacrifice is what you accept. I do not have any regrets for being in the military. You can’t have the good without the bad. Hopefully our family is stronger because of the sacrifices we have made. We appreciate when we are all together. You never think I wish I could go some place and be alone."