Chief Warrant Officer 3
Dwight L. Obado

Chief Warrant Officer Three Dwight L. Obado was born in Lanai, Hawaii on September 24, 1944. He entered the Army in 1964 and completed tours in Korea, Vietnam, and Germany. In the late 1960s, he was a member of the United States Army Pacific Rifle Team, and from 1970 to 1972, a member of the All-Army Rifle Team. From 1972 until 1977, he was a welding instructor at the Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. While at Aberdeen, he also served as course counselor, drill sergeant, and section chief. By the end of his tour had attained certification as a welder, one of six individuals to hold this distinction in the Army at the time. When contemplating retirement in 1984, he was persuaded to remain in the Army and was appointed chief warrant officer two shortly thereafter.

In each of the units in which he served during his 29 year Army career, he was responsible for maintenance improvements and materiel modifications that greatly improved unit and Army performance.

One of his more outstanding accomplishments took place in 1991, when his unit deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He and his section were responsible for supporting more than 200 pieces of Czech and East German ground equipment. These vehicles were critical to transporting supplies to northern Saudi Arabia. When he received them, only 20 vehicles were operable. The remaining 180-odd pieces had to be transported to the unit motor pool. There were no English translations of the maintenance manuals, no vehicle specific tools, no repair parts, and no test equipment for the vehicles. His maintenance expertise and his resourcefulness enabled him to overcome these obstacles and, with his Soldiers, restore all the vehicles to full mission capable status. With the Warsaw Pact vehicles, his supported unit completed 1,250 missions, covering more than 500,000 miles.

He was a legendary worker and mentor to his Soldiers and customers. Following final tours in the states of Washington and Alaska, Chief Obado retired in 1993.