William E. Benson

Bill Benson served 24 years as an Officer in the United States Army and retired as a Colonel in 2014. During that time, he served more than 42 months deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. His deployments to Iraq include time as a battalion operations officer, police transition team leader (PTT) and commander of an Armored Reconnaissance Squadron (ARS). Geographically he served in and around Balad, Tarmiyah, Taji, Baqubah-Diyala, Hillah and Basra Iraq. In Afghanistan he served as commander of a Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) operating as a Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) in Laghman, Kapisa, Kabul and around Bagram Air Field. Those deployments included parts of calendar years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 in Iraq, and 2012 and 2013 in Afghanistan. Like many of his peers, he spent most of ten years deployed, preparing to deploy or recovering from deployment.

Bill grew up in Needham, Massachusetts and graduated from Needham High School before attending the University of New Hampshire on an ROTC scholarship. He received a master’s degree in education from Tennessee Technological University and a master’s degree in operational arts and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies. Highlights of his military schooling include Ranger School, Airborne School, Air Assault School, Armor Basic Course, Infantry Advanced Course, Defense Language Institute (Russian), Command and General Staff College and the Army Senior Service College. His awards include four Bronze Star medals and the Legion of Merit.

Upon completion of military service Bill moved with his family to Maine. After successfully running a small business, he became Executive Director of a nonprofit with the mission of assisting veterans in their transition from active-duty to living and working in Maine. He remains happily married to his wife of thirty years and enjoys spending time with his family, working around the house, staying physically active, reading and participating in local government.