Seneca Battalion Hall of Fame
Members Inducted in 2002
Robert A. Arciero, MD ’76
Colonel, Retired
Born in El Paso, Texas on 8 December 1954, Robert A. Arciero’s family moved to Western New York, and he graduated from Allegany High School in 1972. He enrolled as a freshman at St. Bonaventure University with a four-year Army ROTC Scholarship, and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in biology in 1976. Selected for an educational delay to attend medical school, Arciero graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1980. His first assignment was as a surgical intern at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington from July 1980 until June 1981, and he was next assigned as a general medical officer in Bremerhaven, Germany between 1981 and 1983.
He returned to Madigan Army Medical Center for his Orthopedic residency, which included experience in the Harborview Medical Center’s Orthopaedic Trauma Service, adult reconstructive rotation at the Swedish Hospital Medical Center and a fellowship in sports medicine at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In January 1987, he was assigned as the chief resident on pediatric orthopaedic rotation at Gillette Crippled Children’s Hospital, St. Paul Minnesota, and upon completing this residency, he returned to West Point for a one-year sports medicine fellowship.
Between July 1987 and June 1990, Arciero served as team physician for the U.S. Military Academy’s NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic program. During the final year of this assignment, he was the assistant chief of orthopaedics at Keller Army Hospital at West Point. In August 1990, he was assigned as an orthopaedic surgeon and chief of orthopaedics of the 46th Combat Support Hospital. He deployed to Saudi Arabia and Iraq with this unit during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where he earned the Bronze Star.
Arciero returned to West Point for his next assignment, and he served as Keller Army Hospital’s chief of orthopaedics, and as a staff orthopaedist. In December 1994, he was named clinical assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, a post in which he continues to serve. Between July 1991 and August 2000, Arciero was the U.S. Military Academy’s head team physician and the director of the U.S. Army’s Joint & Soft Tissue Trauma Fellowship.
Arciero, having published and presented exhaustively at the national and international level and received numerous awards for excellence, retired from the U.S. Army in October 2000. He is currently associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut Health Center, where he continues to excel in his profession. His certifications, licenses and memberships include the National Board of Medical Examiners, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Arthroscopy Association of North America, and the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery, and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. He holds medical licenses in Washington, Wyoming and Connecticut, and among his numerous professional committee appointments are the Editorial Board for Lippincott Publishing, reviewer for the American Journal of Sports Medicine and editor of the Journal of Arthroscopy.
Colonel Arciero and his wife, Cathy, have four children, Cristina, Michael, Laura and Jonathan.
Thomas S. Brett ’64
Captain (1964-1969)
Born in Ithaca and raised in Watertown, New York, Thomas S. Brett was active in many facets of student life as a St. Bonaventure student. He was a catcher on the varsity baseball team for three seasons, and a captain of the team in his senior year. He played on the University’s first intercollegiate soccer team in 1961 and was one of the first lay prefects in the campus dormitories before he graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.
He was commissioned as a U.S. Army Reserve Field Artillery second lieutenant through the ROTC program and accepted a position with General Electric. In 1966, he earned a Master of Science in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Albany and volunteered for active duty that same year. He completed the Field Artillery Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in August 1966 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment (Towed), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with whom he deployed to the Republic of South Vietnam in May 1967.
In Vietnam, Brett was the Ammunition Officer of the 3-16 Field Artillery, Task Force Oregon, which eventually became the Americal Division, at I Corps in Chu Lai. In July 1967, he was assigned as executive officer of Battery C, 3-16 Field Artillery. He took the battery on several operations, including Operation Hood River — the first time that 155 mm howitzers were airlifted by helicopter for an airmobile mission. After two more combat operations, he was wounded in an ammunition explosion on 13 August 1967. He had attempted to rescue another soldier, and was burned severely. Brett was evacuated to a burn unit near Tokyo, Japan, then to Brook Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas. He later received treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Promoted to captain in June 1968, he was assigned to the Plans/Operations Group, Fort Mead, Maryland in September. In this capacity, he helped to coordinate security for the first inaugural of President Richard M. Nixon. On 31 July 1969, Brett was released from active duty and returned to Reserve status, having completed his service commitment.
Brett graduated in June 1972 from the Law School of the State University of New York at Buffalo. He served as a trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1972 until 1978, and tried a variety of civil and criminal cases in District Courts and Courts of Appeals in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New York and Puerto Rico. In 1978, Brett became a litigation counsel for Carrier Corporation, and seven years later, joined the regional law firm of Hiscock & Barclay in Syracuse. A partner of that firm until 1997, he founded the Brett Law Firm LLC, which specializes in commercial litigation, real estate and corporate matters, in May 1997.
A member of the Varsity B Club, Brett has remained active as an alumnus of the University, serving as vice president of the National Alumni Association from 1975 until 1977. He is a board member of the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program of Central New York, as well as a board member of the Fayetteville-Manlius Little League and Valley Babe Ruth League. He has been active in the Immaculate Conception Parish, Fayetteville, New York, and as a delegate for John McCain during the State’s primary election in 2000. Brett and his wife Bennett M. Brett live in Fayetteville, New York and are the parents of two children, Andrew Brett and Christian Brett. His military decorations include the State of New York Conspicuous Service Cross, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Purple Heart.
Raymond C. Dee ’64
Captain (1964-1968)
Born in the Bronx and raised in Utica, New York, Raymond C. Dee came to St. Bonaventure University as a freshman in 1960. He enrolled in the Army ROTC program and became active as a leader very early in his college career. Before he graduated in 1964, Dee had been a three-time class president, president of CCD and a member of the Third Order Franciscans, Pi Omicron Phi, Delta Sigma Chi and the Investment Club. He served as the cadet colonel and in his senior year, was elected president of the University’s “105” Club. Named in recognition of the common field artillery piece upon which St. Bonaventure cadets of the time trained, this was the social and professional organization of cadets that later evolved into the Gold Bar Club.
Dee graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and was commissioned as a U.S. Army field artillery second lieutenant. He graduated from the Field Artillery Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was ordered to Germany, where he served in several leadership and staff assignments for three years. He returned to the United States for additional military education, and served as a captain for another one and a half years. His initial entry obligation complete, Dee chose to leave the Army for civilian life and was honorably discharged in 1968.
Dee earned a Masters of Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago, and worked in positions of increasing responsibility with the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) until 1979. At this point, he joined two former associates from Alcoa and bought Cressona Aluminum Company, a Pennsylvania facility that Alcoa had shut down in 1977. Dee became the company’s Vice President of Sales, Executive Vice President and a member of the board. In 1996, Dee and his associates sold the company to Alumax, and shortly thereafter, he joined British Aluminium in Banbury England as the Managing Director of British Aluminium Extrusions. He remained in this capacity for two and one half years before returning to the United States to assist in the management of Valley Technologies, a company he purchased in 1997.
Dee is currently the Chairman of the Board of Valley Technologies in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and is a member of the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees. Prior to being elected to the University’s Board of Trustees in 2000, he served on the President’s Council, National Alumni Board and Capital Campaign. He also has provided leadership for the Annual Bonaventure Fund, taking on the posts of national vice chairman and alumni chairman prior to serving as national chairman of the 102nd Annual Bonaventure Fund. In 1990, he was honored as the St. Bonaventure Alumnus of the Year.
Dee has been generous with his leadership talents, serving as a trustee for Alvernia College in Reading, Pennsylvania, as a member of the Board of the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, as Chairman of the Board of the Seaton Manor Skilled nursing facility and as president of St. John the Baptist Church Council. He also serves on the Board of Pennsylvania Free Enterprise, which is involved with training and educating high school students in the free enterprise system. Dee and his wife of 38 years, Maureen, reside in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and have six children, three of whom (Maureen ’88, Denise ’89 and Mary Beth ’94) are St. Bonaventure graduates.
Marguerite C. Garrison ’81
Lieutenant Colonel
Marguerite C. (McDonald) Garrison was raised in Buffalo, New York and entered St. Bonaventure University in 1977. A member of the Women’s Basketball team as a freshman, she was extremely active in intercollegiate athletics and was a varsity letter winner and senior captain of the Women’s Volleyball team. She managed the University’s first women’s softball team and was the recipient of the 1980-1981 Female Merit Award. Garrison graduated in 1981 with a dual Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Biology and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Military Police Corps through the Army ROTC program.
Upon completing the Military Police Officer Basic Course, Garrison was ordered to Germany, where she was assigned as the commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 385th Military Police Battalion in Kornwestheim, Germany. She next served as Platoon Leader in the 194th Military Police Company at Neu Ulm, Germany and then as Assistant S3/Training Officer, 385th Military Police Battalion. Her final assignment during this six-year tour was as commander of the 630th Military Police Company in Bamberg, Germany.
Garrison returned to the United States for the Military Police Officer Advanced Course and from 1987 until 1990, she was Force Structure Officer in Forces Command Provost Marshal Office, Fort McPherson, Georgia. She next served as an Assistant Secretary of the Joint Staff, Forces Command, and later as the Executive Officer, Forces Command Provost Marshal Office. Her expertise as a Military Police officer was enhanced in 1992 when she attended the 170th Session of the FBI National Academy, an 11-week law enforcement operations course. One of only twelve army personnel selected annually to attend the course, she graduated and in 1992 was named Deputy Program Director of the World University Games, which were held in Buffalo New York. In this capacity, she served as a coordinator for military support and security planning with the New York State Police and county and local police officials.
From 1994 until 1995, Garrison was assigned as the Executive Officer of the 705th Military Police Battalion, which supported operations of the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. She earned a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University in 1995 and was again recognized for her expertise in public safety when the Office of Special Events, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness selected her as a Security Liaison for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, she was assigned as Inspector General of the United States Total Army Personnel Command in Washington, D.C. and worked various personnel actions for soldiers and civilians throughout the Army.
A graduate of United States Army Command and General Staff College, LTC Garrison is currently the commander of the 5th Military Police Battalion, a Criminal Investigation Command unit in Kaiserslautern, Germany. She is married to LTC (ret) Kevin Garrison, and they have twin sons, Sean and Kiera (7), and a daughter, Kelsea (5). LTC Garrison's awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Meal, Join Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement medal and the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge.
Joseph M. Russell ’85 MBA
Lieutenant Colonel, Retired
A native of Franklin, Pennsylvania, Joseph M. Russell earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1975. Commissioned through the Army ROTC program, he began his military career at Fort Knox, Kentucky by graduating from the Armor Officer Basic Course and the Maintenance Officer Course. After completing the Army Basic Airborne Course, he was sent to Germany, where he held several positions as a lieutenant, including Tank Platoon Leader, Scout Platoon Leader, Support Platoon Leader and Tank Company Executive Officer. All of this service was with the 3rd Battalion, 64th Armor, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized.)
Russell was promoted to captain and graduated from the Armor Officer Advanced Course before he joined the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, where he commanded B Troop, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry and was the Squadron S4. Selected to attend graduate school at St. Bonaventure University, he earned his Masters of Science in Business Administration in 1985. Russell continued at the University as an Assistant Professor of Military Science, and was promoted to major before leaving the cadre in 1988. In addition to his personal education and commitments as a member of the Department of Military Science, Russell also coached the men’s lacrosse team, which he led to an undefeated season in 1988.
Russell joined the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia and served as the S3 of the 724th Support Battalion, Division Headquarters Commandant and Executive Officer of the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor. He deployed to Southwest Asia with this unit. On 26 March 1991, while he commanded its tactical operations center
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