Public Domain Picture: Don Cockman

Don Cockman (Left) Don at Ft. Jackson (age 17) (Right photo) Don Cockman (second from right), and McLain (far right) after USMC Mud Run in honor of Cockman's son, Jonathan, an active duty Marine now stationed at 29 Palms, CA.. Don Cockman joined the North Carolina Army National Guard in January 1980. After completing basic training at Fort Jackson, SC, in August 1980, he enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at North Carolina State University. Cockman completed the ROTC Advanced Course at Fort Bragg, NC in July 1981, and served as the Cadet Battalion Commander at NCSU until he was commissioned as a Signal Corps Second Lieutenant in May 1982. Cockman continued to serve in the Guard as a Platoon Leader with Detachment 1, C Co, 230th Signal Bn and completed the Signal Officers’ Basic Course at Fort Gordon, GA in June 1985. Cockman ended his military service in August 1988 as a Captain after serving three years as Company Commander for C Co, 230th Signal Bn. His military awards and decorations include ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate, Signal Officers’ Basic Course Distinguished Military Gradute, Army Service Ribbon, and the National Guard Achievement Medal.. After serving 19 years as a Dept of Defense (DOD) civilian with the Fish and Wildlife Branch at Fort Bragg, NC, he assumed his current duties as the Deputy Project Leader at Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge in McBee, SC in May 2003. As a DOD employee, Cockman earned a federal law enforcement commission in July 1994 and continues to serve as a dual function wildlife officer and firearms instructor with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Cockman, Don, Veterans

March 31, 2014