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July 19, 2006 (Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig helped one of his former constituents advance in rank last week. On Wednesday, July 12, the Idaho Republican pinned a Gold Oak Leaf on to the shoulder of David Buffaloe, signifying his advancement from captain to major. "David worked for me earlier this year as a Military Fellow on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. It was an honor for me to help him and to conduct the ceremony in honor of his significant achievement," said Craig (R-Idaho), who chairs on the Veterans’ Committee. [See pictures at: 2006 - July 12 - Swearing in Major Buffaloe.] Buffaloe grew up in Pocatello and joined the Idaho National Guard in the late 1980s at the age of 17. He joined the Regular Army in the early 1990s after Iraq invaded Kuwait and the United States was considering its military options. "I immediately volunteered for overseas duty," Buffaloe said. He was later selected by the Army for training at West Point, where he later graduated. In 2002 Buffaloe found himself in Afghanistan, where military leaders once again noted his leadership – picking him to command a unit after the officer in charge was hit and seriously wounded by enemy fire. Buffaloe led the men and women under his command through six more successful firefights and two major air assault operations – all without injury. Buffaloe and his unit later went to Iraq, where they successfully defended the largest logistics installation in the country against two suicide car bomb attacks, once again without any friendly casualties. His courage and leadership under fire earned him the Bronze Star Medal—twice. The Army recognized David’s potential and selected him for the prestigious Office of the Secretary of Defense Internship Program which granted him on a full scholarship to earn his Master of Public Policy at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. While at the university, he opted to seek a position as a Military Fellow on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. With his Senate experience behind him, Buffaloe is now working at the Pentagon's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization - a special task force thinking up new ways of defeating road-side and car-bombs. He is also pursuing a doctorate at George Mason University and a Master of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency's Joint Military Intelligence College. His thesis "Defining Asymmetric Warfare" was recently selected for publication by the Institute of Land Warfare. "This young man is a man of action, who has defended his nation at the point of gun, worked on Capitol Hill and is now developing strategies to defend his fellow soldiers while advancing himself academically. The words for that in any language are ‘simply amazing,’" Craig said. #####
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