Marine Corps Sgt. Edwin A. Vasquez Gaitan, a 1996 graduate of McLean High School, is currently deployed with the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Global War on Terrorism. Along with 2,100 marines and sailors, Vasquez Gaitan participated in Eagle Resolve 2005 with the Israeli Defense Force in Dijibouti and a one-month live-fire exercise in Kuwait. Vasquez Gailtan and the rest of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit also participated in community outreach projects in Malta, Italy and Bahrain.
Michael L. Walker graduated from the Army ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course, also known as "Operation Warrior Forge," at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Wash. He is the son of Steven W. Walker of Great Falls and Victoria S. Walker of Herndon.
Marine Corps Cpl. Joseph E. McFadden, son of Olivia B. and Thomas L. McFadden of McLean, and the reserve Marines and sailors from the 5th Civil Affairs Group Company, homebased in Camp Lejeune, N.C., are in the middle of a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. McFadden and approximately 193 of his fellow reservists deployed to Al Anbar Province. The unit's primary mission is to work with Iraqi community leaders to help rebuild and restore the critical infrastructure of the civil government. McFadden is a 1999 graduate of Seton High School of Manassas and joined the Marine Corps in January
2001.
Andrew Gibbons, son of Mike and Mary Beth Gibbons of McLean, was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the 5th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis, Wash., on July 16. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army, led the Regimental Graduation Ceremony. Gibbons is a 2005 graduate of Davidson College.