| Master Police Officer Chuck Grist (Retired from law enforcement in June, 2010) |
| Author and his wife, Debbie, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina before he left for Iraq. |
About the Author
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Charles M. (Chuck) Grist enlisted in the Army for the first time in 1968. He was
commissioned a year later as a second lieutenant at the age of twenty. He graduated
from the Army's Airborne and Ranger Courses and served in Vietnam as an infantry
platoon leader with the First Cavalry Division.
After a long break in service, Grist reenlisted in the Army Reserve as a sergeant.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he continued his service as a
warrior-citizen, volunteering to serve in Iraq in 2004. Grist became the leader of the
C.O.B.R.A. Team, a Protective Service Detail with a mission to protect a general in
Baghdad.
He is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has been married to his
wife, Debbie, for over thirty-seven years. They are the parents of four children and
the grandparents of three little girls and two little Rangers.
Grist retired from the Army Reserve in 2009 and as a police officer in 2010.
To contact the author by email, click here. His "snail mail" address is P.O. Box
197032, Winter Springs, Florida 32719.
commissioned a year later as a second lieutenant at the age of twenty. He graduated
from the Army's Airborne and Ranger Courses and served in Vietnam as an infantry
platoon leader with the First Cavalry Division.
After a long break in service, Grist reenlisted in the Army Reserve as a sergeant.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he continued his service as a
warrior-citizen, volunteering to serve in Iraq in 2004. Grist became the leader of the
C.O.B.R.A. Team, a Protective Service Detail with a mission to protect a general in
Baghdad.
He is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has been married to his
wife, Debbie, for over thirty-seven years. They are the parents of four children and
the grandparents of three little girls and two little Rangers.
Grist retired from the Army Reserve in 2009 and as a police officer in 2010.
To contact the author by email, click here. His "snail mail" address is P.O. Box
197032, Winter Springs, Florida 32719.
| A SPECIAL GIFT TO AUTHOR GRIST FROM ARTIST ASHLEY LAUREN: The painting (left) depicts author Charles Grist as he appeared in Vietnam and Iraq and is titled "Dear Mr. President". The artist is Ashley Lauren, whose father met Grist in Baghdad in 2004. Ashley completed the painting four years ago, but due to time and distance, she couldn't present it to Grist until 2011. The story of how the painting came to be is a fascinating one. Ashley tells this story on her website at www.AshleyLaurenDesigns.com. |
