Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph W. Parenteau
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph W. Parenteau has been decorated with the Bronze Star Medal for participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom while serving at an overseas forward operating base.
The medal is awarded to an individual who, while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, has performed a heroic act, meritorious achievement or distinguished service during armed conflict or ground combat while engaged against an armed enemy of the United States.
Operation Iraqi Freedom is the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces participating in efforts to free and secure Iraq. Mission objectives focus on force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency operations as the Iraqi transitional governing bodies assume full sovereign powers to govern the peoples of Iraq.
Members from all branches of the U.S. military and multinational forces are also assisting in rebuilding Iraq’s economic and governmental infrastructure, and training and preparing Iraqi military and security forces to assume full authority and responsibility in defending and preserving Iraq’s sovereignty and independence as a democracy. His professionalism and commitment contributed immeasurably to the success of building a free and democratic nation for the citizens of Iraq and to the efforts toward winning the Global War on Terrorism.
Parenteau, commander of Task Force Lightning Band, is regularly assigned to the 25th Infantry Division Band at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The chief warrant officer 2 has served in the military for 17 years.
He is the son of Walter F. Parenteau of Punta Gorda and Dorinda M. Parenteau of Plymouth, Mass.
His sister is Nicole E. Parenteau of Pembroke, Mass.
Parenteau graduated in 1987 from Silver Lake Regional High School in Pembroke, Mass., and earned a master’s degree in 2000 from the University of Maryland-Asian Division in College Park, Md.