SERGEANT FIRST CLASS DAVID E. APPLIN JR. was born on January 22nd 1972, in Boston, Massachusetts. He joined the U.S. Army in November of 1990, as a 94B Food Service Specialist. He attended BCT at Ft. Leonard wood, Missouri, and AIT at Ft. Lee, Virginia. His duty stations include: Ft. Riley, Kansas, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Ft. Drum, New York, Bamberg, Germany, and Ft. Lewis, Washington. SFC Applin was deployed during OIF 1 in 2004-2005, and again in 2009-2010 for OIF 09-11.

His awards include: 2 Bronze Star Medals, Joint-Service Achievement Medal, 6 Army Commendation Medals, 4 Army Achievement Medals, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal w/ 4 knots, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal w/ Campaign Star, National Defense Service Ribbon w/ Service Star, Over Seas Ribbon w/ Numeral 4, NCO Professional Development Ribbon w/ Numeral 3, and the Army Service Ribbon. He was awarded the Combat Action Badge for his actions with direct contact from enemy forces in 2004.

SFC Applin is a Master Certified Food Executive, Certified Professional Food Manager, and Certified HACCP Manager. He is currently working towards an Associate’s Degree in Information Technology at Central Texas College. SFC Applin has served for 21+ years in the U.S. Army, and has 25+ years of food service experience.