Vernon High grad Michael J. Sullivan promoted to sergeant

Vernon - Michael J. Sullivan, a 2002 graduate of Vernon High School, has been promoted to the rank of sergeant in the United States Army. Sergeant Sullivan joined the Army in 2002, attended basic training as a part of the 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment at Fort Banning in Georgia and continued there with his advanced training, graduating from the U.S. Army’s Infantry School. He then had his airborne training as part of the 511th Parachute Infantry, also at Fort Benning, where he received his parachutist’s wings. Sullivan then trained at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he graduated from the Army’s Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course. He was then re-assigned to Fort Lewis in Washington State, where he became a member of the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment as part of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team. His unit was deployed to Mosul, Iraq, in September 2004. While in Mosul, Sullivan was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge for his actions there during combat operations. Sgt. Sullivan was wounded while on a patrol in Mosul and was evacuated to Landsthul Army Hospital in Germany and eventually to Malcolm Grow Hospital at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. He was awarded the Purple Heart due to his injury. He has also been decorated with the Army Achievement Medal twice, one for achievement while still in training at Fort Lewis and once during his service in Iraq. Sgt. Sullivan still serves with the Stryker Brigade Combat Team and is currently stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington State. Sgt. Sullivan is the son of Michael Sullivan, Sr., and Grace Sullivan. His maternal grandparents are Ramiro and Beatriz Bahamonde, of Pompton Plains, and his paternal grandparents are Vera W. Lang and the recently deceased Charles W. Lang of Arden, N.C.