The Veterans Day Program will be Thursday, November 9, 2023 starting at 10:15am. The guest speaker will be Major General (R) Vincent B. Barker and the Band & Choir will perform during the flag ceremony outside at 11:11am. The program will be held at the Cochrane-Fountain City High School located in Fountain City, Wisconsin inside the School Gym. Let us thank those who have, are or will serve to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

MG(R) Vincent B. Barker retired from active duty in May 2023 as Chief of Staff of U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, IL. There he oversaw command policy and programs which support the Combatant Commander’s mission to project and sustain military power globally in order to assure our friends and allies, deter potential adversaries, and if necessary, respond to win decisively.

MG Barker received his commission from the Army ROTC program at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in 1987. He holds a B.S. Degree in Geography from UW–Stevens Point, an M.S. Degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, WI, and an M.S. Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.

His command tours include Commanding General of the 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana; Army Sustainment Command – Army Reserve Element, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, IL; Deputy Commanding General of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command headquartered in New Orleans; and Commander, 757th Transportation Battalion (Railway), in Milwaukee, WI.





MG Barker’s Joint assignments include deployment to Kuwait/Iraq as the Director of Sustainment, Combined Joint Task Force in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, and Headquarters, 82nd Airborne Division, CJTF-82, Bagram, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as a Reserve Affairs Liaison Officer at Headquarters, U.S. 3rd Army/Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), Camp Doha, Kuwait, and followed with a stateside mobilization at Fort McCoy, WI, as the Senior Operations Officer, and later Chief of the Mobilizing Unit In-Processing Center.

MG Barker is a 2012 graduate of the United States Army War College. His military education also includes the Advanced Joint Primary Military Education Course, U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, Senior Transportation Officer Qualification Course, Support Operations Course, Field Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses.

MG Barker’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters.

MG(R) Barker is a native of Crandon, WI where he lives with his wife Stephanie. He is a former enlisted United States Marine, having served on active duty from 1981-84. In 2016 MG(R) Barker also retired from his civilian career, having worked over 23 years as an Adjudicator and Adjudication Supervisor with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Workforce Development, Unemployment Insurance Division.