"Vietnam just changed everything for the Army Medical Department, especially the supply." (Audio Interview)

Brian Cody Markle

Brian Markle, shortly after his wedding, Springfield, OH, August 1966 [detail] War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Persian Gulf War, 1990-1995 Branch: Army Unit: 58th Medical Battalion Service Location: Long Binh, Vietnam; also: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Rank: Lieutenant Colonel; Lieutenant Colonel Place of Birth: Springfield, OH

Brian Markle stepped onto a plane bound for Vietnam in December 1966, accompanied by his wife of four months, Jeanne Markle . They were among the first married couples to arrive in country; she was a nurse with an evacuation hospital, and he was an officer in charge of medical logistics—everything from ordering supplies to maintaining vehicles. During his second tour of duty in 1970, Markle and his colleagues employed rudimentary computer technology to create a system of supply that ensured there would never be a shortage of anything—critical to the running of medical facilities in a war zone. Twenty years later, the Army asked him to use his considerable expertise to smooth operations during the Persian Gulf War.