Col Chuck Geiger, USMC (Ret)
Col Charles Ray Geiger, USMC (Ret), known as Chuck Geiger (call sign “Troll”), is a Carolina Marine and a friend of Carolina Museum of the Marine having served, among other roles, as a member of our Board of Directors for ten years. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1962, and soon after graduating from boot camp at Parris Island, Col Geiger was offered a chance to train as a pilot under the Naval Aviation Cadet Act of 1935 (ended in 1968). In May of 1962, he began aviation training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. In August of 1963, Cadet Geiger completed his first carrier landing, and in February of 1964 he graduated as a naval aviator and received a commission as a 2nd lieutenant.
Later that year, Col Geiger reported for duty at MCAS Cherry Point where he became an F-4B Phantom pilot, training until May of 1965 when he left for Japan, becoming a pilot in the first F-4 squadron to be based at MCAS Iwakuni. From August 1965 until late 1966, Col Geiger flew combat missions over Viet Nam from his home base at Danang. In April 1966, on returning to Danang after a combat mission in which his aircraft took significant ground fire, Col Geiger was forced to eject from his aircraft when the plane’s controls failed as he approached the landing strip. Col Geiger, his RIO, and their aircraft dropped into the water near the air strip, where, fortunately, a rescue helicopter recovered them within minutes of entering the water. Within two days, Col Geiger was flying again. He returned to the United States in late 1966 to train F-4 pilots at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. After two years there, Col Geiger returned to combat duty in Viet Nam until August 1969. Over the course of his two combat tours in Viet Nam, Col Geiger flew 377 combat missions.
In October 1969, Col Geiger went to Scotland for two years and in December of 1971, returned to the United States to attend Amphibious Warfare School. From 1972-74, Col Geiger was operations officer at Quantico, and in 1975, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management from Auburn University. After another year at MCAS Iwakuni, Col Geiger returned home to attend the Air Command and Staff College at Montgomery, Alabama. While there, Col Geiger also completed a Master of Business Administration degree at Auburn University’s campus in Montgomery. In January of 1981, Col Geiger began a short assignment to MCAS Iwakuni that ended later that year when he returned to the United States for studies at the Naval War College. Following this duty, Col Geiger worked at the Pentagon in Program Assessment and Evaluation, and from 1985-88, he was back at Iwakuni for flight duty. From 1988 to 1989, Col Geiger worked for the Commander of Naval Aviation Atlantic, and completed his Marine Corps career as Deputy Commander and then Commander of the Naval Space Command from 1990-92.
Col And Mrs. (Carole) Geiger have two sons, Corey and Cameron. Corey holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and Cameron is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. We are pleased to say that Col Geiger continues to support the mission of Carolina Museum of the Marine.
