The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is endorsing the 59th Combat Veteran For Congress; who is a fiscally conservative candidate and will work to rein in the out of control spending by the Obama Administration and Congress. He will work toward unleashing the private sector to grow once again, create jobs, and stimulate private sector business investment. Col Raymond G. Boland, USA (Ret) http://www.bolandforcongress.com resides in Sparta, Wisconsin, is a 35 year military veteran with service in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the US Army; he is running for election in the 3rd Congressional District of Wisconsin.  Col Boland is challenging one of the most liberal members of Congress, 8 term incumbent Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI-3), who is a Pelosi clone and has consistently voted to increase taxes, spending, the debt ceiling, and expanding the federal budget.  He voted to support all the stimulus spending, opposes prayer in schools, voted not to protect the pledge of allegiance in schools, and has not introduced any significant legislature in 15 years.  Raymond Boland was born in Chicago, IL on November 21, 1937, was raised in Chicago, and his father was a postal worker who served in combat in WWII.  After graduation from Harper High School in Chicago in January of 1955 his family moved to Friendship, Wisconsin, and in January 1955, Raymond entered Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point, WI; he transferred to Woods County Teachers College in 1958 and graduated with a Teaching Certificate in 1959.  In June 1971, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science from Troy State University in Troy, AL taking evening courses in 1967, 1968, and 1971while assigned to Fort Rucker, AL.  In June 1981 he received a Master of Science degree in Communications from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, taking evening courses in 1980 and 1981 while assigned to the US Army War College.  He graduated from the US Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA in June of 1981. 

On January 16, 1956, Raymond Boland joined the Wisconsin National Guard at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and reported for basic training at Fort Leonardwood, MO.  Upon completion of training in August 1956 PFC Boland went on to advanced training at Fort Sill, OK and continued to serve in the National Guard. On June 28, 1959, Specialist 4 Boland graduated from the Wisconsin State Officer Candidate School, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Field Artillery; in September 1961 he graduated from Artillery Officer’s Basic Course at Fort Sill, OK.  In October 1961 2nd LT Boland was called to active duty with mobilization of Wisconsin’s 32nd Infantry Division for the Berlin Crisis and ordered to Fort Lewis, WA; he remained on active duty for the next 30 years.  In June 1962 he was promoted to 1st LT, and in September 1962 he was assigned as Battery Commander for the 1/30th Field Artillery at Ft Lewis.  In June 1963 he received orders to Officer Fixed Wing Aviator Course at Fort Rucker, AL; he received Army Aviator Wings in April 1964, and was temporarily assigned to Ft Rucker.  He was promoted to Captain in September 1964 and assigned as the Aviation Officer, 212th Field Artillery Group in Hanau, Germany.  In June 1966 CPT Boland was transferred to Pleiku, Vietnam as a Platoon Leader for the 18th Aviation Company for Combat Duty.  CPT Boland flew the U-1 Otter in support of remote Special Forces and advisory team camps. Following completion of his Combat tour in June 1967, he was assigned to instructor duty at Ft Rucker to train other pilots for combat duty.  For his first tour of Combat Duty, CPT Boland was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal (with 8 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Commendation Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, and various campaign and service medals.
In April 1968 CPT Boland was promoted to Major, and in July 1968 he was assigned to the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course at Ft Sill, graduating in July 1969. In November 1969, after completing rotary wing transition training, Major Boland returned to Vietnam for assignment to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Eagle, Vietnam. He was the Commander of an AH-1G Cobra Attack Helicopter Unit in the 4/77 Aerial Field Artillery that flew missions to provide fire support for both US and South Vietnamese units in the mountainous northern region of South Vietnam.  He completed his second Combat tour in November 1970 and was assigned to instructor duty at Ft Rucker.  For his second Combat tour Major Boland was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Purple Heart medal, the Air Medal with combat “V” (with his 9th thru 20th Oak Leaf Cluster), the Army Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and various campaign and service medals.

In April 1972, Major Boland received orders to Command an Assault Helicopter Company, in the 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Ft Hood, TX.  In June 1974 Major Boland was ordered as a student at the US Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS, graduating in June 1975, and was assigned to Faculty duty at the US Army Field Artillery School in Ft Sill.  In November 1978, Major Boland was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and in September 1978 he was assigned as Commanding Officer of the 25th Combat Aviation Battalion, 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii.  In June 1980 LTC Boland received order to the US Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA, graduating in June 1981, and received orders as Deputy Chief of Staff for Training, Headquarters, 5th US Army, Fort Houston, TX.  In March 1983 LTC Boland was promoted to Colonel.  In March 1985 Col Boland was assigned as Commander of the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division to Giebelstadt, Germany. In April 1987, Col Boland received orders as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, Forces Command, Fort McPherson, GA.  In November 1988 Col Boland was assigned as the Garrison Commander of Fort McCoy, WI, where he supported the mobilization of reserve component units for deployment to Operation Desert Storm, finally retiring from active duty on June 30, 1991.  Col Boland’s subsequent awards include the Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Meritorious Service Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster), the Master Army Aviator Badge, and various service medals.  
 From 1959 to 1960 Raymond Boland taught school in the Pittsville Public School System in Pittsville, WI and in Adams Friendship Area Schools in Adams, WI from 1960 to 1961, until he was called to active duty in October 1961.  On August 1991, upon release from 35 years of Reserve duty and Active duty, he entered state government as a Special Assistant to the State Adjutant General, and in February 1992, Col Boland was appointed as Wisconsin’s Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs. While serving as Secretary he also served as President of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, Vice President of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, Chairman of Wisconsin’s State Educational Approval Board, and served as a Board member of the Wisconsin State Workforce Investment Council. He testified before the US Congress on numerous occasions regarding Veteran’s issues, and legislation, and is recognized as a national advocate for ending homelessness among Veterans.  Col Boland served as Wisconsin’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs until October 2003.  In January 2004, Col Boland formed Boland and Associates Consulting and was involved in public-private partnership initiatives in Veterans issues thru October 2011, when he decided to run for Congress.  Col. Boland is also a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heat, the military Officers Association, the 101st Airborne Association, the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, the NRA, the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, and is a Freemason.  Col Boland has been endorsed by the Republican Party of Monroe County Wisconsin and the Combat Veterans for Congress.   Col Boland his wife Donna have six adult children; Daniel, David, Michael, Sarah, Amber, Cassandra, and they have 11 grandchildren and attend the Trinity Lutheran Church in Sparta, WI.
 The Combat Veteran’s For Congress PAC is pleased to endorse Col Raymond Boland, USA (Ret) who would bring to Congress extraordinary public sector and private sector skills and wisdom to better solve problems and represent his district and the Republic.  If you review Col Boland’s positions on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans for Congress Mission Statement.  We look forward to working with Col Boland, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is running for Congress.  If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in the 3rd Congressional District of Wisconsin, kindly pass this E-mail on to them, and ask them to support Col Boland by working in his campaign, providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign. The military is one of the few remaining institutions producing the caliber of men and women needed to restore this nation to the greatness our Founding Fathers envisioned.  We have endorsed another Combat Veteran For Congress that General George Washington would have approved of.  He is a Veteran who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable “to The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including his life.”