Florida Guardsman promoted to brigadier general

Photo By 1st Lt. James Lanza | Brig. Gen. Ralph Ribas prepares to unfurl his command flag during his pinning ceremony on Saturday at the Mark Lance Armory in St. Augustine. BG Ribas was commissioned in 1987 through ROTC at the University of Miami, and has served in the 53rd Brigade Combat Team for nearly his entire 28 year career. During the ceremony, Ribas took time to recognize his family, highlighting his father ingraining him with a sense of service to ones' nation.  

ST. AUGUSTINE , FL, UNITED STATES

06.16.2016

Story by Pfc. James Lanza 

107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

For friends and family of Army Col. Ralph Ribas, Saturday was a historic day, as they watched him being promoted to Brigadier General at the Mark Lance Armory in St. Augustine, Fla.

Currently, Brig. Gen. Ribas serves as the Florida National Guard's Director of Joint Staff and credits his rise through the ranks to his passion for service during his exemplary 28-year career with the organization.

"My parents asked what possessed me to join the military, half jokingly I answered: the Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship," said Ribas, during his speech before family and colleagues. "But really, my parents instilled in me a belief in service."

While motivated by his love of patriotism and dedication to duty, many credit the rise to his methodical personality and analytical thinking.

"Ralph is constantly evaluating, I don't think you can catch him at a downtime, but he is service oriented and always trying to improve whatever products or organizations he's associated with," said Maj. Gen. Michael Calhoun, The Adjutant General of Florida. "He has a reputation for being a sound leader in the infantry brigade."

Ribas, a long time south Florida native, earned his commission as a second lieutenant through the Army ROTC program at the University of Miami in 1987.

Since commissioning, he has spent nearly all of his many years of service as a member of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, deploying with them twice, in 2003 and 2009. As a traditional Guardsman, Ribas is employed full-time at U.S. Southern Command as a Joint Training Systems Specialist.

• Date Taken: 06.16.2016
• Date Posted: 06.16.2016 14:42
• Story ID: 201406
• Location: ST. AUGUSTINE , FL, US
• Hometown: PEMBROKE PINES, FL, US
• Hometown: ST. AUGUSTINE, FL, US