July 2019 Veteran of the Month: Corey Mcalpin

From left: Attorney General Ashley Moody, Governor Ron DeSantis, FDACS Veteran of the Month for July 2019 Corey Mcalpin, Commissioner Nikki Fried, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis

Military Service

Florida Army National Guard. Corey left the Guard after 12 years of service as a Sergeant (E-5).

FDACS Service

 Forest Ranger with the Florida Forest Service. Helped fight the North Florida forest fire in April 2019.

Biography

Brandon “Corey” McAlpin enlisted in the Florida Army National Guard in 2006 and began his military career as a Cavalry Scout with First Squadron, 153rd Cavalry Regiment in Bonifay, Florida. He volunteered to deploy to Iraq in 2008 with the 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion in Jacksonville where he changed his military occupation to Satellite Communications Systems Operator.

Corey was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2010 and was called to state active duty in Panama City Beach to assist in addressing the environmental damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2011, Corey volunteered to deploy to Iraq for a second time with the 1/20th Special Forces Group. Additionally, he was called to state active duty for Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma. After 12 years of honorable service, Corey left the Florida National Guard in July 2018.

Corey began his career with the Florida Forest Service in 2012 as an OPS Park Ranger with the Region 1 Burn Team and shortly after was hired full time as a Forest Ranger at Point Washington State Forest. He transferred to Bay County in 2016 and has been serving at the Pine Log State Forest since then. During his time with the Region 1 Task Force, he has fought fires in Florida several times. Most recently, Corey was instrumental in fighting the North Florida forest fire in April 2019.