A little about Floyd

About Me – I am originally from Washington State, having grown up in the State Capital of Olympia. I graduated from Capitol High School in 1983 and joined the U.S. Army afterwards joining 2D Ranger Battalion. In 1986, I was an Honor Graduate from Ranger School winning the Leadership Award and attaining the rank of Sergeant the following year. I left the Army in 1988 and attended college for a short time before working as a Prison Guard in a Maximum Security Prison in Washington State. I then worked as a Range Master and Self-Defense Instructor for a few years before owning two businesses that failed due to theft by a business partner. I moved to Wyoming and found work as an Oilfield Safety Supervisor, a job that fortunately moved me to Arizona in 1997. I joined the Arizona National Guard in 1998 and gained a full-time job with the National Guard in 1999, working at the Mesa Armory.

In 2002, I was selected by the Arizona National Guard to be an Instructor at the Kazakhstan Non-Commissioned Officer Academy as part of the State Partnership Program. In 2005, after the Guard unit had been activated, I went on Active Duty and was in Iraq just after Thanksgiving that year. During this tour, I worked in the Regional Embassy in Babylon as part of a Military Training Team and was able to help the people in the City of Al Hillah to the point that they named a newly constructed bypass highway after me. It isn’t called the “Floyd Getchell Highway” but the “Highway of the Unrecognized Soldier”. At one time, over 200 people came to the Governor’s Office to thank me, this was spotted by a drone and it was thought to be a riot, until we told Command otherwise. My youngest Son, David, was born during this tour. In 2008, I returned to Iraq, again on a Military Training Team, MiTT, this time serving is south Baghdad. We provided some of the Captured Weapons that General Petraeus used as evidence to tell Iran to stay out of Iraq. I was awarded a Bronze Star for my Service during this Tour.

I went to Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010 and fought in several Battles against the Taliban to include the Battle of Kandahar on 7 May 2011, a week after Osama Bin Ladin was killed. I organized, trained and fought a Mortar Section Leader, although this is not my Job. I was Awarded a Second Bronze Star for my actions during this Tour.

I ended my career in the military after being hand selected as an Instructor at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, Louisiana. I retired in March 2015 at which time I was able to move back to Arizona. I bought a house in Casa Grande and completed my Degree in History from America Military University. I have been occupying my time since I retired from the military by writing Science-Fiction Novels, lots of travel around the World, President of the Arizona Classic Bronco Club, working on my Broncos and several startup companies involving outdoor recreation.