Honoring Our Heroes

Lt Col Charles Bradford Stults: Age 80

Lt Col Charles B. Stults served in the U.S. Military for 26 years including four years and 10 months on active duty in the U.S. Army and 21 years in the AL Army National Guard. His active duty Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was Infantry (11B). He received the following medals, awards and decorations: Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Award (two), National Guard Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Award, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Alabama Commendation Medal and Alabama Distinguished Service Medal. He completed education at the following Service Schools: Associates Logistics Executive Development Course, Command and General Staff Course, Armor Officer Advanced School, Special Forces Officer Course, Airbourne School, Infantry Officer Basic Course, Warrant Officer Advanced Course, Quality Guard Senior Advisors Course and M1/M1A1 Tank Commanders Course.

Lt Col Stults was born April 23, 1944 in Montgomery, AL, to his parents, Luther Bradford and Ann Mitchell Stults, and he was reared in Montgomery. He graduated from Lanier High School in 1962, attended Clemson University for one year and then graduated from Huntingdon College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting in 1967.

Lt Col Stults entered active military service in the U.S. Army in Montgomery, AL, April 1968 and completed Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Dix, N.J. He then attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) Infantry at Ft Benning, GA., completing training after six months. After graduation, he completed three weeks of training at Parachutist (Jump) School before being assigned to serve with the 3rd Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C., for nine months. He served as Assistant Detachment Commander, and after completion of the Special Forces Officer Course, he served as Detachment Commander. He was then deployed to the Republic of Vietnam and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division as a Mechanized Infantry Platoon leader from November 1969 until February 1970 when his Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) hit an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) where he was seriously wounded and then hospitalized in the 71st Medivac Hospital at Pleiku, Vietnam. He remained there for three weeks and then transferred to Japan for additional treatment and recovery. After six weeks of hospitalization in Japan, he was transferred to Ft. Gordon, GA, for additional recovery before being assigned to Ft. McLellan, AL, on May 1, 1970. His initial duties at Ft. McClellan were Post Billeting Officer and Supplemental Closed Mess Officer. After one year, he then was assigned to the 111 Military Police Company as Executive Officer, and after promotion to Captain, he assumed command. After commanding the 111th Military Police Company for one year, he was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) where he served his last six months on active duty and was discharged in December 1972.

Lt. Col Stults served in the Individual Ready Reserve for 13 years, and then he served in the AL Army National Guard from January 1985 until April 2004. While in the AL Army National Guard, he served with the 1-152 Armor Battalion in Gadsden, AL, as Personnel Officer, Headquarters Company Commander, Tank Company Commander and as Battalion Operations Officer for two years after promotion to Major. Duing this time period, he completed the Armor Officer Advanced Course in Active Duty Status. He then transferred to Troop Command in Montgomery, AL, where he served for five years as an Operations Officer in charge of Collective Training and Protocol Liaison Officer. After promotion to Lt Col, he commanded the Alabama Selective Service System, State Military Department. In order to continue in service in the AL Army National Guard and to the nation, he reverted to the rank of Warrant Officer and was assigned to Internal Review, State Military Department where he remained until retiring in April 2004. While assigned to the Internal Review, he completed the Warrant Officer Advanced Course, and he was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer.

After leaving active duty in 1972, he worked in the civilian sector for five years before using the G.I. Bill to receive a Masters of Business Administration Degree from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1979.

Lt. Col Stults was employed with the state of AL for 34 years with the AL Public Service Commission for 13 years, as Director of Energy the last three years and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for 21 years retiring from all employment in March 2014.

Lt Col Stults and his wife, Judy, have been married 30 years, and they have two children and two grandchildren. He is an active member of numerous veterans’ service organizations in the Montgomery, AL, area including Chapter 607 Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Smith-Wynn Post 96 of which he is Quartermaster, Disabled American Veterans, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and Military Order of the Purple Heart of which he is the Commander.

Lt Col Stults’ conclusions about what serving in the U.S. Military has meant to him are: “The military gave me a purpose in service to my country which a lot of people today do not have. The military made me aware of what my country represents and where we stand in relation to other countries. I have seen what other people have done, and it made me proud to serve.” He would like to be remembered as a person who served his country and was dedicated to serving those less fortunate especially assisting veterans who have served after him that need a hand to get a start in life and above all, a chance to get it right.