Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5653 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version

                             
 
 
 
2023 -- H 5653 
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LC001694 
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S TATE  OF RHODE IS LAND 
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 
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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N 
EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE P ASSING OF COMMAND SE RGEANT MAJOR 
RICHARD A. WINKELMAN 
Introduced By: Representatives Azzinaro, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Vella-
Wilkinson, Kennedy, Noret, Roberts, Serpa, and Shallcross Smith 
Date Introduced: February 16, 2023 
Referred To: House read and passed 
 
 
WHEREAS, Command Sergeant Major Richard A. Winkelman was the devoted husband 1 
of Rhonda Winkelman for twenty-nine years. He was born in the Bronx, New York, the son of 2 
Richard Winkelman, Sr., and the late Kathleen Winkelman. He moved to Natick, Massachusetts, 3 
at the age of eight, and graduated from Natick High School, where he was a standout athlete in 4 
football, baseball and track; and 5 
WHEREAS, Always a deeply patriotic man, Mr. Winkelman joined the United States 6 
Army through the ROTC program at Boston University, where he was a stellar student and 7 
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Shortly thereafter, he was 8 
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army; and 9 
WHEREAS, Mr. Winkelman served as a Platoon Leader with Company A., 483rd 10 
Engineer Battalion, and as the Executive Officer for Company B, 368th Engineer Battalion. He 11 
commanded the 468th Engineer Company for four years, finishing that tour with a deployment to 12 
Bosnia in 1998; and 13 
WHEREAS, After fulfilling his military obligations, Mr. Winkelman began working, first 14 
as an accountant for the Boston Ballet, and later as an accountant with the Forum Corporation in 15 
Boston. In 2003, he joined the Rhode Island National Guard, as an enlisted soldier, joining the 16 
43rd Military Police Brigade as an Intelligence Analyst; and 17 
WHEREAS, Mr. Winkelman volunteered for deployment to Iraq with the 1-126th 18 
Aviation Battalion in 2004, where he was deployed as the Senior Intelligence Analyst 19   
 
 
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Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) for the Battalion, flying 65 missions and over 300 hours as a 1 
UH-60 door gunner. He deployed several more times with the 1-133rd Infantry Battalion in 2006-2 
2007, 1-126th Aviation Battalion in 2011-2012, and Company A, 2-245th Aviation Battalion in 3 
2016-2017, serving his nation with bravery and honor; and 4 
WHEREAS, Mr. Winkelman was promoted to the Rank of First Sergeant in March of 5 
2017, and has held numerous assignments within the Rhode Island National Guard, including 6 
serving as the Brigade Command Sergeant for the 56th Troop Command, where he was 7 
responsible for more than 900 soldiers, until his passing; and 8 
WHEREAS, Command Sergeant Major Winkelman’s military education includes passing 9 
the engineer officer basic course, intelligence analyst course, aviation operations specialist 10 
course, signal support specialist course, small arms muster gun course, sling load inspector 11 
certification course, battle staff course, airborne school, advanced leader and senior leader course, 12 
and the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy; and 13 
WHEREAS, Command Sergeant Major Winkelman received numerous awards and 14 
honors throughout his distinguished military career including the Air Medal, the Meritorious 15 
Service Medal with (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster), the Army Commendation Medal with (4th Oak Leaf 16 
Cluster), the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Rhode Island Defense Service Medal, the 17 
Rhode Island Service Medal, and the Rhode Island Emergency Service Medal, to name but a few; 18 
and 19 
WHEREAS, In his free time, Command Sergeant Major Winkelman was an avid sports 20 
fan who enjoyed cheering on his beloved Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots. He also 21 
enjoyed spending time by the ocean, especially on Cape Cod and in Westerly. He was a movie 22 
and music buff who often wowed people with his ability to quote famous movie scenes or songs 23 
upon request. Physical fitness was very important to him and he particularly enjoyed running and 24 
frequenting the gym. He and his wife loved animals and through the years adopted many cats; 25 
and  26 
WHEREAS, Mr. Winkelman always put his family and loved ones first in his life. In 27 
addition to his wife, Rhonda, Command Sergeant Major Winkelman is survived by his father, 28 
Richard Winkelman, and brothers John Winkelman and Patrick Winkelman. He also leaves 29 
behind his nieces and nephews Zachary, Allison, Ryan and Shayne, his great-niece and nephew 30 
Ava and Colt, his parents-in-law A. Blair and Janice Llewellyn, and his aunt MaryEllen 31 
Winkelman. He also leaves behind countless friends, extended family members, and fellow 32 
soldiers of the armed forces; now, therefore be it 33 
RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives hereby expresses its deepest 34   
 
 
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condolences on the passing of Command Sergeant Major Richard A. Winkelman; and be it 1 
further 2 
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to 3 
transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mrs. Rhonda Winkelman. 4 
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LC001694 
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