LATHAM, NY (12/19/2012)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Christopher Ciccone, a Rennselaer resident and an Earth Science Teacher at Columbia High School, has been selected to attend the Army War College at Carlisle Pennsylvania.
The War College trains Army leaders, as well as civilians and leaders from other services, in leadership, strategy, and joint service operations. About 600 officers are selected to attend annually: half enrolled in a ten month resident course and half in an on-line course with regular visits to the 500 acre campus.
Enrollment in the Army War College is considered a mark of an officers potential to serve as a brigade commander, key staff officer, or eventually a general officer. The War College awards its graduates a Masters in Strategic Studies.
Ciccone, a veteran of the Iraq War, joined the New York Army National Guard in 1991 as a military intelligence officer. He has served in military intelligence positions in a tank battalion, a military police company and at the division headquarters level.
In 2005 he served as Chief of the 42nd Infantry Division's Analysis Control Element in Tikrit, Iraq. In this position he played a key role in identifying and tracking expected insurgent activities and key insurgent commanders.
He has served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence for the 42nd Infantry Division and is currently the commander of the 106th Regional Training Institute at Camp Smith, near Peekskill, NY.
Ciccone holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology, and a Masters in Curriculum Development. His military education includes the Military Intelligence Officers Basic and Advance Courses, Command and General Staff College, The Defense Intelligence Agency Warning Analysis Course, and intelligence officer and regional training institute pre-command courses.
His military awards include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the New York State Defense of Liberty Medal, awarded to National Guard members who responded to the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.
Ciccone and his wife Gina have a daughter, Gina.