Biography
Lieutenant Colonel (US Army Retired) Joe Repya
Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Joe Repya served 30 years of duty and three wars, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was born in 1946 in Gary, Indiana. He was the oldest son of a disabled combat wounded veteran of the European Campaign of World War II. Awarded an ROTC scholarship he attended Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, graduating in 1969. Upon graduation he was appointed to the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. His 30 years of service in the US Army (12 years Active and 18 years in the National Guard & Reserves) lasted from 1969 until 2006. He served as a Combat Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader in Viet Nam in 1970/71 with the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (Band of Brothers “Currahee’s”), and an Aero Rifle Platoon Leader with A Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. In Desert Storm 1990/91, he served as a Combat Helicopter Pilot and Staff Officer with the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One). He initially retired in 1998.
After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, he was one of 12,000 US Army retirees who volunteered for Retiree Recall to Active US Army duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom. LTC Repya was selected as one of only 350 retirees who were returned to active duty. At 58 years old on October 1, 2004 he returned as an Aviation Branch Officer for two more additional years of active duty service with the 101st Airborne Division. He served for nine months as the G-3 Air for the Division. In 2005 he served as the Senior Liaison Officer for the 101st Airborne Division with the Multi National Corps Headquarters at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. He reentered retired status the end of September 2006 at the age of 60.
LTC Repya is an active member of numerous veterans’ organization. The included: the Minnesota Chapter of Veterans for Freedom, the American Legion, the VFW, the DAV and the Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund. He and his wife Debra are staunch supporters the US military. They founded the Minnesota Support Our Troop Coalition in early 2003 and distributed 30,000 “Support Our Troops” lawn signs. On March 22, 2003 they held a Support Our Troop rally at the State Capital, Saint Paul, MN that was attended by an estimated 20,000 people. In September 2003, LTC Repya traveled to Iraq as a freelance journalist and fed 360 T – Bone steaks to members of the 101st Airborne Division near Mosul, Iraq.
LTC Repya is a graduate of the Army’s Infantry Officer Basic and Advance Courses and the Command and General Staff College. He has been awarded 23 US Army and Foreign military awards and decorations. They include: the Army’s Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with V devise for Valor (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal (with Numeral 2), the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (individual award), the Combat Infantry Badge, the Army Senior Aviator Badge, the Parachute Badge, and the Air Assault Badge. He is married to Debra Shurson Repya, and the father of two daughters: Robyn (28) & Molly (25). The Repya’s reside in Eagan, MN.
LTC Repya has been a military analyst for the FOX News Network in New York. He has also has worked as a military analyst for FOX 9 KMSP-TV Minneapolis and KSTP (ABC) Talk Radio, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
