COL. Samson was born in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines and grew up just outside Clark Air Force Base. "When I was a kid I had a dream. I wanted to join the military and be an officer. I liked the discipline," Col. Samson shared in an earlier interview.
Col. Samson said that she was raised by very strong women, among them her Visayan grandmother and her own mother. "My father was in charge but my mother was the one in control," she quipped.
In 1973, Samson moved to the United States. She graduated from San Diego State University in 1981 with a BA degree in History. Shortly after, Rebecca enlisted in the Army. She went to basic training at Fort Jackson, SC then to the Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA where she was commissioned as an Ordnance Officer in Nov 1982.
Her first assignment was with the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) in Frankfurt, Germany as the Battalion Maintenance Officer for the 533d Military Intelligence Battalion (Combat Electronics Warfare Intelligence), then as Battalion Motor Maintenance Platoon Leader of 62 soldiers. She later served as the Automotive Ground Support Equipment Materiel Officer at Division Materiel Management Center, Division Support Command.
Col. Samson joined the Active Guard Reserve program in 1986 in San Diego, CA as the Executive Officer and Water Supply Officer of 316th Quartermaster Company (Water Production and Distribution). While there, she earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with emphasis in Human Resource Management at National University in 1989 before going to the Ordnance Officer Advance Course. In 1990, she served as a Maintenance Officer, Logistics Operations, for 171st Corps Support Group in Garner, NC.
She was deployed in the Gulf War, with the unit for Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm from Sep 1990-Apr 1991 under 1st Corps Support Command and spent 6 1/2 months in Saudi Arabia and Iraq in support of the 24th Infantry Division, XVIII Airborne Corps.
In 1993,she was the Sacramento Recruiting Battalion USAR Operations Officer in CA. Two years later, she served as Plans Officer in the Security, Plans and Operations Section of the 377th Theater Support Command in New Orleans, LA. In 1997, she went to Fort Leavenworth, KS for a year to attend the Command and General Staff College prior to her assignment to the United States Army Reserve Command, Fort McPherson, GA. She served in the Force Programs Directorate as an Ordnance and Quartermaster Systems Integrator, and later as a Detailed Inspector General in the Assistance and Investigations Division of the USARC IG Office, and as the Operations Officer and Executive Officer in the same office.
Col. Samson attended the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA in residence and received a Master of Arts Degree in Strategic Studies in June 2006. She serves as the Troop Support Division Chief, Headquarters, Department of the Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics (G-44S) at the Pentagon.
As an officer, Samson believes that her devotion to the military and the hard work she provided were crucial to her ascent in the army. "Once I earned the respect of my superiors and mentors, the minority thing, the woman thing, they were out of the door," she said.
Her awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with one silver Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Hour Glass, the Overseas Ribbon, the Kuwait Liberation Medal – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kuwait Liberation Medal-Government of Kuwait, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Army Superior Unit Award, and the Department of the Army Staff Badge.
Col. Samson is the widow of Robert Riddle who died in 2007 from cancer. She resides in Springfield, VA with her son Brandon, and daughter Paula. (AJPress)
( Published January 20, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. B3 )
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