Robert "Bob" E. Bent

Robert was born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Much of "Bob's" early youth was spent in Maine where he started High School in Freeport before relocating to California. He graduated from Lick Wilmerding High School, San Francisco, California in 1955. Following graduation from high school, he worked for a while in the logging camps in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Following this adventure, he moved to Iowa and studied Engineering at the State University of Iowa. In 1959 he joined the US Army and began his military career by serving in the 249th Engineer Battalion (Construction) stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany and Etain, France. Upon return to the United States, he attended Officer Candidate School (OCS), Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was immediately assigned to the 1$ Battalion, 92nd Field Artillery in the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This artillery battalion played a critical role during the turbulent period that encompassed the building of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1963 he was selected to attend Sergeant Missile school and assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 80th Field Artillery (Sergeant) where he assisted in the organization and deployment to Darmstadt, Germany in 1964. Upon return to the United States, then Captain Bent returned to the State University of Iowa on a "bootstrap assignment" where he completed the requirements for his Bachelor of Art's degree. Upon receiving his degree, he attended, in succession, the Field Artillery Officers Advanced Course, Vietnamese Advisory School at the Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Vietnamese Language School at Fort Bliss, Texas and deployment to the Republic of South Vietnam as an advisor living with the Vietnamese. Following a year's combat duty along the Cambodia border, North West of Saigon, he returned to the United States and was assigned to the US Army Training Center, Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1970, he returned to South Vietnam for his second combat tour, this time with the 1st Battalion, 82nd Artillery (Composite) of the Americal (23d) Division, based in Chu Lai.

Completing his second tour in Vietnam in 1971, he spent the next three years advising the 1S Battalion, 117th Field Artillery Battalion, Alabama Army National Guard followed by another three year assignment to the US Army Aviation Center and School. Following his assignment at Fort Rucker, he took command of the Weapons Support Detachment - Korea (WSD-K) in Chunchon, South Korea. In 1979 he returned to the Washington, DC area for a series of special nuclear weapons staff assignments with the US Army Nuclear and Chemical Agency (USANCA) and the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA). Lieutenant Colonel Bent retired with almost 28 years of service in 1987.

In recognition for his military service he was awarded several military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal with "V" Device and Two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Two Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbons, Army Service Ribbon, Two Overseas Service Ribbons, Vietnam Campaign Medal with a gold and a silver star, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation with Palm, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation with Palm, Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal 1st Class, Four Overseas Combat Service Bars, and Parachutists Badge.

His civilian awards included the George Washington Honor Medal, conferred in 1973 and the George Washington Certificate, awarded in 1974 by the Freedoms Foundation, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of Iowa and a Master of Science from Troy State University and pursued extensive military education through correspondence courses from the Infantry Advanced Course, Fort Benning, Georgia, the Armor Advanced Course, Fort Knox, Kentucky, and the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth Kansas.

Following his military career, he continued to serve the Nation by providing National Defense Strategic consulting services related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) with a principal focus on the deterrence value of nuclear weapons. He performed these services through B Square Enterprises, Inc., which was established in 1987. As the Chief Executive Officer and President of B Square Enterprises, Inc., the Washington, D. C. based consulting firm, also engaged in research and development(R&D) activities, Operations Research and Systems Analysis (ORSA), cost and effectiveness analysis, and program management activities, primarily in support of the Department of Defense (DoD). Mr. Bent served on various study groups and Steering Advisory Groups (SAGs) having oversight on high dollar-level DoD programs.

He served as one of two Vice Presidents of Petroline, Inc., formed in Oklahoma in 1981, as an oil well development company that explored, developed, and operated a limited number of oil wells. Under his leadership, Petroline explored, completed, and operated several oil wells in Kansas and Oklahoma. Petroline was one of the few oil well companies to survive the depressed oil-well economy in Oklahoma and Texas during the mid- to late-1980s. The partnership was dissolved when it was no longer anticipated to become profitable venture.

A couple of years later, in 1996 Mr. Bent became the Executive Director of Global SMC Ltd, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) corporation that focused on developing international joint ventures. Its projects are structured to create economic opportunities and advance the quality of life for citizens living near the project sites. The most notable project is the development of a 40 square mile parcel in Nigeria, West Africa (the "Phoenix West Project") by Triple I: International Investments Inc., an affiliate of Global SMC. Phoenix West was intended to include residential, commercial, industrial and recreational resources and facilities intended to be used by its tenants collectively to become the "Gateway" to West Africa and to open African markets to the goods and services of those international companies located at the site.

Following his retirement from the military, Mr. Bent devoted a significant portion of his time and effort in support of several veteran organizations, most notably the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) where he has commanded local units. He was especially proud of his involvement with the DAV where he spent considerable time supporting the DAV mission to build better lives for disabled American veterans and their families. He consistently remained very active in these veteran-related activities.

Bob was a faithful member of St. Peter’s in the Woods of Fairfax, Virginia. He loved the Lord his God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength and sought to love others as Christ loved him. Bob loved people and he saw everyone through the eyes of Christ - created in Gods image. He had the gift of service and loved to help anyone in need, whether that need was big or small.

The family would like to thank all of the incredible friends that were there for Bob over the years. He cherished his friendships and loved each of you as if you were family. We are especially grateful for the love and care that Larry Brooks and his family have shown to Bob over the last 50 years, and especially in the last 5 years.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife (Carrie), Mom (Mary), Dad (Russell), Step Mom (Kay), Sister (Ann), Sister (Betty), and son-in-law (Roy). He is survived by his daughter, Jackie Malin, and her former spouse (Vernon) who share two girls together, Hannah Summers (Greg) and Heather Purser (Mark); he had numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren that he loved dearly: Olivia and Tensleigh Griffin, Gabriel Gissendanner, Autumn and Zaydan Summers, Emma Kate, Ellie and Crawford Purser, Robbie and Oaklynn Malin; his sisters Carol Abel (Richard) and Sue Hook; and nieces and nephews: Mary Ann Rettkowski, Cathleen Holtz, Mike Allen, Bryan Allen, Scott Allen, Melissa Jackson, Jason Abel, Shelley Sanchez, Byron and Allison Hook and their respective families, and a host of other loving relatives and friends.

In recognition of Bob's distinguished service to enhance the lives of disabled veterans and their families, on February 29, 2015 General Assembly of the House of Delegates, Commonwealth of Virginia, passed Resolution No: 248. Further recognition of Lieutenant Colonel Bent's dedication and devotion on behalf of disabled veterans and their family members he was installed in the Artillery Officer Candidate (OCS) School Hall of Fame in Fort Sill Oklahoma on May 12, 2017.