Welcome Wes Riddle and his "Horse Sense"

I am pleased and honored to announce that my friend, soldier, scholar, and patriot Wes Riddle has allowed me to add his brilliant, insightful, and always inspiring words to my blog.

By way of backgroung, Wes was born and raised in Houston, Texas and graduated from Houston’s Northbrook High School and the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY (Class of 1983). He spent twenty years in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his retirement in 2003 served at Fort Hood, Texas, on the III Corps Staff as Chief of the Air Defense Element (ADE).

Previous assignments include both stateside and overseas tours in Europe and the Pacific. Awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

During the Gulf War, he commanded a Patriot Missile battery which intercepted SCUD missiles in northern Saudi Arabia. From August 2000 to August 2002, he was assigned to the Office of Military Cooperation-Kuwait, U.S. Embassy, as Air Defense Advisor to the State of Kuwait.

Wes obtained his Master of Philosophy degree in Modern History from Oxford University in 1993 where he graduated with Distinction, after which he taught Advanced American History and American Political Tradition for three years at West Point. He was awarded a Salvatori Fellowship by The Heritage Foundation for 1996-97 and is widely published in the academic and opinion press on matters of American history and political theory. He is Fellow at the National Humanities Institute in Washington, D.C., and Policy Advisor to the Virginia-based Future of Freedom Foundation.

After his race for U. S. Congress (TX-District 31) in the 2004 Republican Primary, Wes joined the Adjunct Faculty at Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas and taught U.S. History. Shortly afterwards, Vinnell Arabia, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman asked him to join its senior management team in Riyadh where it assists the U.S. Army in training the Saudi Arabian National Guard. Wes is currently Manager of the Office of Force Integration, Office of the Program General Manager, with Vinnell.

Wes and his wife Aida live in Belton, Texas where he is probably best known for his weekly conservative column called “Horse Sense” in area newspapers. His column also appears on websites, including BeLogical.com and is frequently featured on Dallasblog.com.

To the Starboard welcomes Wes and I thank him for his lifetime of service to our nation!