Here’s a bio I found of Sam. He had a distinguished career.
Colonel (Retired) Sam Floca Jr., was named the First Honorary Colonel of the Regiment in 2010. Our Colonel is a Temple native with thirteen years active duty service at Fort Hood. His military and Texas roots run deep as two of his ancestors fought under General Sam Houston in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.
Enlisting as a rifleman in 1963, he subsequently received a commission through the Field Artillery Officer Candidate School in 1965. He retired from active duty on Memorial Day of 1992 and moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he wrote professionally on the Battle of Gettysburg. He returned to his native Temple in 1994, building his home next to the golf course. A home, which he has told us more than once, is always open to the Dragons and their Ladies.
He brings a distinguished resume to our regiment as a graduate of both the Field Artillery and Infantry Officers’ Advanced Courses, a distinguished graduate of both Command and General Staff College and the prestigious Defense Public Affairs School. He also attended the Army War College and later returned as a member of the faculty. His time with the guns includes five battery command tours, duty as a operations officer at both battalion and Division Artillery. After a tour as the III Corps Artillery War Plans Officer for NATO, he assumed command of a nuclear capable heavy artillery battalion in Seventh Corps in Germany. In addition to his line and staff assignments, he served as a Press Officer for the Secretary of Defense and later as the Chief of Public Affairs for the US Army in Europe.
A Vietnam veteran, he served two tours with the First Infantry Division as a fire support officer for Infantry, armored and air cavalry, and the long range recon patrol unit, the forerunner of the divisional Ranger company. As an artilleryman, he twice assumed command of infantry companies in combat and received an Impact Award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. His other awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, five Purple Hearts, The Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Presidential Unit Citation, presented to the First Squadron, Fourth Cavalry, for combat actions in Vietnam during the summer of 1966.
Our Colonel is also a Military Historian and, in that capacity, taught at the Field Artillery School and the Army War College. Following his retirement, he moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and worked as a writer and research historian. His essays have been published in professional journals and commercial magazines in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He is a frequent lecturer at civic and historical societies where his favorite topics are Gettysburg and Combat Leadership. Since becoming our Regimental Colonel, he has maintained a professional email reading group of over 250 addressees in six countries. His goal has been to inform both retirees and civilians of the challenges, accomplishments, and sacrifices of the Dragons and their brothers in arms.
Our colonel divides his time between our regiment, the study of history, golf, and his favorite Black Bass lake in East Texas. As he has told the battalion command team, the opportunity to again be with soldiers, to gain an understanding of the issues we deal with; and to try to pass on his own lessons learned, is the highest honor he has ever received.
In his own words, “I work for you.”
