Colonel Rodney D. Bither was commissioned as an Infantry Officer upon his graduation as Honor Graduate from OCS Class #1 on 14 February 1963. His first assignment upon commissioning was as a Fixed Wing Aviator, 501st Aviation Battalion, lst Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas. | His subsequent assignments include: Fixed Wing Aviator, 72nd Engineer Detachment, Monrovia, Liberia (Africa); Flight Instructor, Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, AL; Attack Helicopter Platoon Leader, 161st Assault Helicopter Company, Vietnam; Operations Officer, 69th Aviation Company, 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Commander, 328th Flight Detachment, Military Intelligence Group, Vietnam; Executive Officer, Philadelphia District Recruiting Command; Company Commander, Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Air Assault Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Installation Procurement Officer, Fort Polk, Louisiana; Battalion Commander, 25th Aviation Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, HI; Commander, Hanchey Army Air Field, Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama; and director of Logistics, Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama; Commander, Army Plant Representative Office, Mesa, Arizona. | Colonel Bither is a graduate of the Army Aviation School's Fixed Wing Aviator and Rotary Wing Aviator Courses, Aerospace Safety and Management Course, Infantry Officer's Advanced Course, Procurement Management Course, Contract Administration Course, Contract Law, Command and General Staff College, Director of Industrial Operations Course, and Army Installation Management. | His military awards and decorations include: Distinguished Flying Cross w/1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star w/2 Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal w/17 Oak Leaf Cluster and V Device, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Award, Master Parachutist Badge, Master Army Aviator Badge, and Pathfinder Badge.