Ben Gifford for U.S. Congress in 2010

Ben Gifford, a former classmate at South Torrance High School who had a canon of an arm at catcher and older brother of fallen soldier Micah Gifford, is preparing to run for U.S. Congress in California for 2010. You can access his Facebook page here.

Here is his bio:

Marine, Father, American, Christian, Iraq and Afghanistan vet.

 

Brother to a fallen Soldier; CPL Micah S. Gifford (July 7, 1979- Dec 7, 2006)

Decrease Wasteful Spending, Support Our Armed Forces, Adhere to the Constitution, and promote Equality of opportunity for all Americans.

EDUCATION
Pepperdine University School of Law Malibu, CA
Juris Doctor Candidate May 2011
Activities: Federalist Society, President
Christian Legal Society
Honor Board

University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA
Bachelor of Arts, American Studies December 2000
Activities: Scholarship Athlete, Cal Varsity Baseball Team
University of California in Washington D.C. Intern (Fall 2000)

WORK EXPERIENCE
United States Court Of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Los Angeles, CA
Externship for the Honorable Arthur P. Alarcon May 2009 – August 2009

United States Marine Corps Camp Pendleton, CA; Camp Lejeune, NC; Quantico, VA
Captain, Company Commander November 2005 – August 2008
Directly responsible for all aspects of annual training for a 200-person organization. Accountable for the planning, coordination, and successful execution of operations within the unit.
• Developed an aggressive internal approach to separating entry-level Marines for criminal misconduct. Identified deficiencies in the separation process and implemented innovative approaches to streamline the process resulting in thousands of dollars in savings and a 33% increase in turnover efficiency for an entry-level separation.
• Established and supervised a comprehensive, record-keeping personnel database linked to a “real time” administrative database, which eliminated former inaccuracy plagues faced by Commanders in assessing and determining adjudication, retention and punishment for all Marines pending administrative separation for legal infractions.
• Counseled, mentored, evaluated and determined whether or not entry-level Marines pending legal action should remain in or be removed from the Marine Corps. Directly responsible for conveying separation decisions to individuals.

Captain, Task Force Sledge Hammer Commander
May 2004 – November 2005
Commanded an 89-member Task Force of infantry Marines and Light Armored Vehicles throughout Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Coordinated all operational efforts with supply, logistics and training needs to achieve mission success.
• Managed the maintenance of $5,161,950 in weapons and equipment by implementing a reporting system that promoted complete visibility and allowed for the identification of improper maintenance trends.
• Developed weekly and monthly training goals and schedules to achieve long-term Task Force objectives.

First Lieutenant, Company Executive Officer

October 2003 – May 2004
Served as second-in-command for a Company of 172 Marines during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Responsible for the employment of personnel in defense of Bagram Air Base, Hamid Karzai’s palace in Kabul and various other forward operating bases on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Each compound was successfully defended against multiple terrorist attacks.
• Maintained 100% accountability of weapons, personnel, and 2000 pounds of cargo while in transit.
• Developed a comprehensive report for the head of security at Karzai’s palace, outlining deficiencies, demonstrating better ways to integrate the Marines and identifying cost-effective ways to solve security problems.

Second Lieutenant, Platoon Commander
December 2000 – October 2003
Directly responsible for the employment and success of 43 personnel. Planned, coordinated, supervised, and executed all operations with a 100% success rate to include combat operations in Iraq.
• Led the platoon in combat operations throughout Iraq, notably during the Battle for An Nasiriyah, Iraq in March 2003.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
United States Marine Corps Honors: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (twice) • Combat Action Ribbon (twice) • Iraq Campaign Medal• Afghanistan Campaign Medal• National Defense Medal• Global War on Terrorism Service Medal• Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal• Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (three times) • Presidential Unit Citation• Navy Unit Citation• Flag Certificate• Expert Pistol • Expert Rifle • Water Survival Qualified • Marine Corps Martial Arts Black Belt Instructor
Affiliations: • Marine Corps League • Veterans of Foreign War • National Rifle Association • California Gold Star Families