Gibson C. Armstrong

Gibson C. Armstrong served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 100th District.[3]

Gibson C. Armstrong
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 100th district
In office
July 20, 2002[1] – November 30, 2006[2]
Preceded byJohn Barley
Succeeded byBryan Cutler
Personal details
BornNorth Carolina
Political partyRepublican
ParentsGibson E. Armstrong (father)

His first campaign was against 18-year incumbent John E. Barley for the seat that his father held in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1977 to 1984. Barley resigned rather than face Armstrong in a primary election.[4] As a result, he was elected in a special election on July 16, 2002 to fill Barley's unexpired term.

While in office he held statewide policy hearings on higher education reform, spoke at national policy conferences and on regional talk radio, hosted statewide TV programming, and, after the tragic slaying of Amish students in his district, went on Glenn Beck to tell the encroaching national media to "back off!"

Armstrong founded and ran the Renewable Energy Caucus, the legislature’s largest policy caucus, as a forum for colleagues to discuss clean energy policy issues. Additionally, he spoke at state political and energy conferences.

As a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, each year he exercised oversight of hundreds of programs and thousands of line items in PA's $25 billion budgets.

As the Aviation Subcommittee Chairman on the Transportation Committee, he was handpicked by chairman to stop $20 million Aviation Trust Fund from losing $1 million annually.

While serving on the Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, he discovered a senior care program funding formula "error" favoring Philadelphia that, once corrected, netted local seniors and senior services hundreds of thousands of dollars in added annual benefits.

He worked closely with the Secretary of Environmental Protection to found the PA Energy Development Authority, and was then appointed Chairman of Technology Committee and subsequently Board Secretary. The committee reviewed and approved $300+ million for advanced energy projects. He resigned from the authority in 2019.

Committees and Policy Caucuses
  • Aging and Older Adult Services
  • Appropriations
  • Environmental Resources and Energy
  • Renewable Energy Caucus (Chairman)
  • Transportation (Aviation Subcommittee Chairman)
  • Veterans and Emergency Preparedness (Secretary)

Education

Armstrong attended Millersville University and was admitted on his third application to the US Naval Academy's Class of 1991. At "Navy," he majored in political science and minored in Chinese and engineering. He earned his "jump wings" at the US Army Airborne School in Ft. Benning, GA following plebe (freshman) year. He rowed Division One crew as a varsity athlete, stroking the second boat and rowing in some of the shells built by George Pocock, made famous to the rest of the world by Daniel Brown's The Boys in the Boat. Additionally he served as the vice president of Officer's Christian Fellowship and was awarded a Cox Language Scholarship to study Chinese for a summer in Taiwan.

Military Service

Armstrong was commissioned a second lieutenant at graduation and served as a Marine officer. He was awarded the warrant for major before leaving active duty in 2000. His tours of duty included:

Security Officer, Mogadishu, Somalia (3rd Battalion, 11th Marines). While in Somalia he led Marines on day and night combat patrols and managed translation and civil affairs teams.

Fire Direction Officer, Twenty-Nine Palms, CA (3rd Battalion, 11th Marines). He led as many as 50 Marines while in charge of his battery's motor pool and controlled the fire of up to 6 howitzers during numerous extended field operations in the California desert.

Executive Officer, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD. He was responsible for daily operations of an 80-Marine unit responsible to protect national security communication assets.

CSSD-39 Rapid Deployment Unit Commander, Okinawa, Japan. Armstrong was tasked with forming up a brand-new rapid deployment unit, Combat Service Support Detachment 39. By the time he turned over the unit to its next commander, it was capable of deploying globally on just a few hours' notice with over 150 combat-ready Marines and with over half a dozen cargo aircraft carrying support equipment.

Deputy Comptroller, 3rd FFSG, Okinawa, Japan. In charge of daily operations for 3rd Force Service Support Group's $60 million (inflation-adjusted) logistics budget, he supported the logistical needs nearly two dozen units in Hawaii, Korea, Japan and Australia.

Military Awards, Clearances
  • Top Secret Clearance
  • Combat Action Ribbon
  • National Defence Service Medal
  • Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (2)
  • Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2)
  • Armed Forced Expeditionary Medal
  • Expert Shooter, Rifle
  • Expert Shooter, Pistol

Schools and Professional Training
  • The Basic School (Quantico, VA)
  • US Army Artillery School (Ft. Still, OK)
  • US Naval Gunfire School (San Diego, CA)
  • US Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center (Bridgeport, CA)
  • US Naval War College National Securities Diploma (non-resident program, New Port, RI)
  • US Marine Corps Security and Counter-Terrorism School (Chesapeake, VA)
  • US Marine Corps Financial Management School (Camp Lejeune, NC)
  • US Air Force Air University Professional Military Comptroller School (Maxwell Air Force Base)

Post-political career

After leaving office, he worked in the energy sector. Most notably, he spent several years at start-up BlueStar Energy Solutions where he held key leadership positions at the senior level. He was instrumental in helping grow the company until it was acquired by Fortune 200 utility, American Electric Power.

He is currently a Vice President at Bank of America, where he helps business leaders with their banking needs.

Current/Prior Board/Organization Memberships
  • Board of Directors, Teen Challenge International
  • Advisory Board, Governor's Commission on Asian American Affairs
  • Advisory Board, Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy Council
  • Advisory Board, PennFuture Center for Energy
  • Advisory Board, HOPE International
  • American Council of Young Political Leaders
  • Marine Corps League
  • Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
  • National Rifle Association (NRA)
  • Officers' Christian Fellowship
  • Philadelphia West Point Society
  • US Naval Academy Alumni Association
  • Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

References
  1. "SESSION OF 2002 - 186TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 58" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2002-07-30.
  2. Per Article II, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, the legislative session ended on November 30, 2006
  3. http://www.house.state.pa.us/BMC/Bios/PDF/973.PDF
  4. "2002 Special Election for the 100th Legislative District". Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information. Pennsylvania Department of State. 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
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