biography
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Donald B. (Brad) Spice was born and raised in Linton Indiana, where after high school he joined the Indiana National Guard in 1971. Shortly after joining the National Guard as an enlisted soldier, he enrolled in the Indiana Military Academy and was commissioned in 1973 as an infantry 2nd Lieutenant. He spent the next 12 years serving in traditional infantry assignments to include: scout platoon leader, company commander, Battalion S4, Assistant G4, and Assistant G3 for the 38th Infantry Division. During this time, he worked for the Peabody Coal Company in jobs of increasing responsibility. In 1985 he accepted an Active Guard Position and for the next 15 years he held numerous key positions within the Indiana National Guard Full Time Active Guard Reserve Force. These positions included: Area Commander for Recruiting and Retention for Central, Western and Southern Indiana units, Personnel Officer for the 38th Infantry Division, Commander of the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Commander of the 38th Main Support Battalion and finally the Director of Human Resources for the Indiana National Guard. His abbreviated list of awards from his 30 years of military service include: The Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Indiana Distinguished Service Medal, Indiana Commendation Medal and the Indiana Long Service Medal. He also earned the Adjutant General Staff Badge and Master Recruiting Badge. He was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash in June of 2000 by Governor Frank O’Bannon and again in December of 2019 by Governor Eric J. Holcomb. He was also the recipient of the Major General Robert G. Moorhead Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Military Community 2019 and the Dr. John Morton-Finney Award for Public Service in 2021, both by the Veterans Day Council of Indianapolis, Inc.
After retiring from the military, he served as the Executive Director of the National Guard Association for two years and also worked for two years as a Classification Specialist in the Indiana National Guard Human Resources section.
In 2004 he truly found his second calling that is when he started working as a JROTC Instructor starting a new Army Junior ROTC Battalion at Terre Haute South Vigo High School. During the next nine years he turned that program into one of the premier JROTC programs in the state of Indiana. In 2013 he joined the Indianapolis Public Schools System as the Director of Army Instruction for the district. This enabled him to have an impact on even more high schools. While the Director of Army Instruction he served every year as the Commandant of the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge Camp. This camp would host approximately 300 cadets from 25 Indiana High Schools at Camp Atterbury for a week of intense leadership and adventure training.
Lieutenant Colonel Spice retired from JROTC and IPS in December of 2020. 7 months later he came out of retirement and returned to IPS as the Director of Army Instruction to fill an unexpected vacancy. Lieutenant Colonel Spice served in that position until his retirement 1 October 2021.
In his 17 years of working with JROTC he has left a lasting impression on thousands of high school kids across the state of Indiana. His impact on JROTC within the state of Indiana cannot be overstated. He has also been very active in civic organizations throughout his life. He has always been an active member of his church wherever he lived. He is a member of Elks Lodge 866, and Masonic Lodge 560. He is a life member of the National Guard Association of Indiana and the Military Officers Association of America (where he served as President of the Ernie Pyle chapter in Terre Haute, IN), and a member of the Association of the United States Army. For the past several years he has been a key part of the Indianapolis Veterans Day Council including serving as its President for two years.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Spice and his wife Susan currently serve as NOMADS Mission Volunteers and spend numerous hours on mission projects rebuilding churches, houses for parishioners and church camps throughout the many supported United Methodist agencies.
He lives in Avon, Indiana with his wife of 47 years Susan. They have 3 grown children and 9 grandchildren all living in the Indianapolis area.
Biography:
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired)
Donald B. Spice
Updated July 2022
