Raymond C. Vail Robinson, Jr.
Colonel Raymond C. Vail Robinson, Jr., retired from Department of the Army on August 1, 2005 after serving over thirty-nine continuous years of service to the Army as an Active Duty, and US Army Reserve Officer and as an Army Executive Civilian.
Colonel Robinson transferred to North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWC) in 1963 and remained there through 1965. He enlisted in the Army in 1966. After Basic and Advanced Infantry Training, he was selected to attend Infantry Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, GA. He was commissioned a second Lieutenant Infantry and was assigned to Ft. Bragg, NC. While there he served as a Training Officer and a Company Commander
From there he attended Jungle Warfare School in Panama prior to going to Vietnam. He arrived early in 1968 in time for “TET 68”. He served in Vietnam 1968 and 1969. While there he was a Platoon Leader, Company Commander, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) Operations with the 25th Infantry Division.
Following his return from Vietnam he was assigned to Ft. Holabird, MD as the Base Director of Personnel. From there he attended the Officer Advanced Course, then onto US Army Recruiting Command, at Ft. Meade, MD where he served as the Operations Chief and Personnel Psychologist.
Following that assignment, he came off Active Duty and went back to college to complete his last semester. He graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Baltimore in 1974. He remained active in the Army Reserves, except for a two-year special assignment at the Pentagon, until his military retirement in 1997. Following his special assignment, he began his Civil Service Career with the Department of the Army. From 1979 until his final retirement in 2005, he was the Director of Army Personnel Operation for the Army Deputy Chief of Staff of Personnel, and the Department of Defense Executive responsible for Non-Combatant Evacuation and Repatriation Operations for the Secretary of Defense.
Colonel Robinson is a highly decorated Soldier and Civilian. Among his Military Awards is the Combat Infantry Badge, the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Bronze Star (1 for Valor), the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, five awards of the Army Commendation Medal (two for Valor), and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
His Civilian Awards include the Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award (the second highest award given by the Secretary of Defense), the Department of the Army Exceptional Civilian Service Award (the highest award given by the Army), the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Superior Service Award, and two Army Commanders Awards.
In 1992 he was inducted in the United States Infantry Hall of Fame. In 1998, he received the Thomas Jefferson Award of Excellence in Broadcasting. Finally, in 2003 the National Infantry Association bestowed on him the Order of Saint Maurice in the rank of Legionnaire.
He has served on and chaired several private school Boards of Directors in Maryland from 1980 through 1996. He had the honor to serve as the NCWC President of the Alumni Board of Directors and a member of the College Board of Directors from 1997 to 2001. Most recently he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of All Souls Anglican/ Episcopal Church (the largest Church on the island) in Okinawa, Japan from February 2007 to December 2017.
He is a Life Member of numerous professional organizations: the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, Association of the United States Army, Reserve Officers Association, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, The American Legion, and the National Infantry Association.
Colonel Robinson was born in Baltimore, MD on August 20, 1944. He is an active church member in the Anglican/Episcopal Church.
He is married to the former Helen Darlene Kinsey. They now reside in San Antonio, Texas. They have four adult children and one granddaughter.
