Veteran Spotlight: Chris Witte

Almost immediately after high school, at the ripe old age of 19, Chris decided that he wanted to do something different. He wanted to serve his country, be part of something bigger, and see the world. 

Chris’ Service

Chris joined the Army on November 25, 1982, as an infantryman. He reported to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for Basic Training and Infantry Advanced Individual Training (AIT), where he learned the skills required to fulfill his duties as an infantryman for the Army. 

But that wasn’t enough fun for Chris. He decided that he wanted to be a paratrooper, so he stayed at Ft. Benning upon completion of AIT and went through the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course.

After his training at Ft. Benning, the Army transferred Chris to the 22nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colorado. Chris served with the 4th until August of 1984 when the Army transferred him again—this time overseas. He was assigned to the 17th Infantry Battalion, 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey near Dongducheon in Gyeonggi Province, 40 miles north of Seoul, South Korea.  

Chris served with the 2nd until he separated from the service in October 1985. Once Chris was back home in the States, he took a little time off from the Army. But it wasn’t long before he got the itch again and joined the U.S Army Reserves in July of 1986. It was at this time that Chris changed his military specialty and became a drill sergeant with the 70th Infantry Division (Training) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  

As a drill sergeant, Chris went on to instruct recruits in customs and practices of military life, physical fitness, proper execution of a military drill, discipline, and willingness to obey all lawful orders given by superiors immediately, and often, basic armed and unarmed combat training. 

Chris served with the 70th until they were deactivated in November of 1996, and he transferred to the 84th Infantry Division (Training), where he served until his retirement on January 20, 2004.

Becoming a Professional Truck Driver

Throughout his time in the service, Chris also worked in a factory for 17 years until he decided to become a truck driver. Chris drove as an over-the-road truck driver for almost eight years before he joined the Dot Transportation, Inc. (DTI) family as a customer delivery specialist (CDS) at Dot Foods Indiana in April of 2010.

Still looking for an opportunity to serve, Chris became a driver trainer around his three-year mark and has loved training ever since.

Chris remembers his time in the service fondly but still declares his time at Airborne school as the most exciting. He describes the experience of jumping out of a plane as “better than any roller coaster you can get on.”  

In his off-time, Chris enjoys spending time with family, golfing, and fishing. Chris and his wife, Linda, live in the Fort Wayne, Indiana, area and have a son named Tyler. Chris is a CDS driver trainer working out of the Cambridge City distribution center (DC).

From Dot and Dot Transportation: Thank you, Chris, and all of our great veterans, for your service to our country!