Michael J. McElmeel moved with his family to Cedar
Rapids as a three month old infant. His parents moved their
family to 942 11th Street NE. By the time Michael was ready to
enter school the family had moved to the Noelridge Park area and he
began his school years at the Noelridge Primary School.
Eventually he attended Pierce Elementary School, Harding Junior High
School (later to be Harding Middle School), and J. F. Kennedy High
School. During his high school years McElmeel participated in
various activities including the JFK wrestling team. He
enlisted in the U.S. Army during his senior year in high school and
began his duties at Fort Benning, Georgia in September 1982.
McElmeel's service took him to Georgia, North Carolina, New York,
Massachusetts, Arizona, Germany, Colorado as permanent locations.
Deployments and training missions took him to several other states and
many foreign countries/regions including: Southwestern Asia, the Middle
East, Bosnia, Italy, Kosvo, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and other
locations. He retired as a Master Sergeant.
McElmeel says, "After a successful and fulfilling military career,
I returned home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
While in the U.S. Army I was trained as a paratrooper, ranger, and as a
special forces operator. I served proudly in the 82nd Airborne
Division, as a member of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry),
and the last 14 years
in the U.S. Army Special Forces 'Green Berets.'
"During my time in our country's service I operated in
many capacities. I gained valuable experience as an instructor, supervisor, and manager. I also prepared
detailed long and short range training plans to achieve National Command Authority objectives. I forecasted and obtained
supplies and equipment, managed a six-figure budget, and dealt with
logistics for moving goods and personnel thousands of miles.
"I have demonstrated managerial skills with the
appropriate focus on long-range planning and detail. My ability
to be a team player and my work ethic have been clearly demonstrated
during my military career and my current career in the trucking industry."
After working at Heartland Express McElmeel moved to West Side Transport (Cedar Rapids, IA) as a fleet manager.
In the fall of 2005, McElmeel completed work for a Bachelor of
Science, Troy University, with a major in Political Science/Public
Administration.
Michael McElmeel is an active member of the St. Jude Parish as a volunteer
and member of the parish council. He is a member of the
Knights of Columbus Council 5544, the American Legion, Veterans
of Foreign Wars, and the Elks. He is an avid runner and entered his first triathon in the official
University of Iowa TriHawks (Coralville, Iowa) and the
University of Iowa ARMY ROTC sprint distance triathlon at the
Coralville Dam; Sunday, September 18th 2005.
Michael
and Starr McElmeel and their family (three children at home: 12, 15,
16) are residents of Southwest Cedar Rapids. Their older son is
currently living in Colorado.
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