Joe E. Stepp

Lieutenant Colonel Joe E. Stepp was commissioned an Armor Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 1-78 at Fort Benning, Georgia, 22 February 1978. His first duty assignment was a Platoon Leader, Troop E, 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry, Fort Knox, Kentucky. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Platoon Leader, K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR), Germany; Support Platoon Leader, HHT, 3rd Squadron, 11th ACR, Germany, Troop Commander, HHT, 3rd Squadron, 11th ACR, Germany; Systems Automation Operations Officer, 13th Support Command, Fort Hood, Texas; Author and Instructor, Army Management Staff College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Special Forces Staff Officer, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta Force; Special Forces Company Commander, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Senior Operations Officer, United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission, Umm Qasr, Iraq; Chief, Special Operations Division, J3 Directorate, Joint Task Force Six, Fort Bliss, Texas. | He retired from Active Military Service as a Special Forces Officer in 1998. Following retirement he served as the Regional Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Coordinator, Regional Intelligence Center, Pasadena Police Department, Pasadena, Texas. After 9/11, Lieutenant Colonel Stepp worked ten years in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq as a Special Forces Contractor in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). | His military education consists of: U.S. Army Airborne Course, Fort Benning, Georgia; Special Forces Qualification Course, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Ranger Course, Fort Benning, Georgia; Pathfinder Course, Fort Benning, Georgia; S.E.R.E (High Risk) Course, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Parachute Jump Master Course, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Armor Officer Basic Course, Fort Knox, Kentucky; Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Fort Benning, Georgia; Systems Automation Engineering Course, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; Resident Course Graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. | His military awards include: Legion of Merit, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Award), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (3rd Award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd Award), Joint Meritorious Unit Award (2nd Award), Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (2nd Award), United National Medal, Master Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Ranger Tab and Special Forces Tab.