PASADENA, Calif.—The public is invited to salute our military veterans on Monday, Nov. 11, at Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a welcome by Mayor Terry Tornek. Immediately following, there will be a call to colors with the Blair High School JROTC Color Guard; the singing of the national anthem by Monet Bagneris; and the Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force anthems will be played, with veterans standing for their respective branch. The Condor Air Squadron will conduct a flyover at 11:11 a.m., and the event will conclude with hot dogs donated by Pasadena Firefighters Union 809.
The guest speaker will be Lieutenant Colonel Rudy G. Salcido, who is a native of Tucson, Arizona, and served as an enlisted Marine in 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment from 1993 to 1996. He served in Company B and Weapons & H&S Companies as part of the Surveillance Target Acquisition Platoon. During this tour, he deployed twice to Okinawa, Japan in support of the Unit Deployment Program supporting Theater Security Cooperation exercises in Thailand.
After attending The Basic School and Infantry Officer Course, Lieutenant Colonel Salcido reported to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He served as a Rifle Platoon Commander, Weapons Platoon Commander, and Company Executive Officer with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. During this tour, he deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I and II.
Lieutenant Colonel Salcido was assigned to Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company Europe in Rota, Spain, and served as a Platoon Commander and Company Operations Officer. He returned to the operating forces with his assignment to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He served as Company Commander, Company F and deployed in support of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit as the designated Small Boat Company. Lieutenant Colonel Salcido participated in Theater Security Cooperation exercises in Thailand and the Philippines, after which he was assigned as the Battalion Operations Officer and deployed in support of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting Theater Security Cooperation exercises in Australia and Philippines.
Upon returning from deployment, Lieutenant Colonel Salcido served as Company Commander, Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team 7 in support of the Operation Enduring Freedom 12.2-13.1 deployment. While deployed, he was designated as the Officer-in-Charge, Georgian Liaison Team (Rotation 6), 32nd Georgian Light Infantry Battalion, Musa Qal’ah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Immediately following, Lieutenant Colonel Salcido was assigned as a Faculty Advisor at Expeditionary Warfare School in support of Academic Year-14 and Academic Year-15. He was then selected to serve as the Personnel Exchange Program Officer embedded with the Argentine Marine Corps. Lieutenant Colonel Salcido returned to the operating forces with his assignment as the Operations Officer, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He deployed in support of the West Pacific Deployment 18-2, and he began serving as the Inspector-Instructor, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines in May 2019.
Lieutenant Colonel Salcido holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of Arizona and a master of arts degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma.
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