NH SENATE: Don Bolduc (R)
Don Bolduc was born and raised in Laconia. He grew up working on the historic Bolduc farm in Gilford. His father, Armand Bolduc, was a Laconia City Councilor for 34 years.
When he was 18 years old, he was hired as a police officer in the town of Laconia. At the time, he was the youngest police officer in New Hampshire’s history. He graduated from the academy just a few days after his 18th birthday.
Bolduc enlisted in the Army and after achieving the rank of Sergeant, he attended Salem State University and joined the ROTC program. He graduated as distinguished military graduate and received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. This began what would be an over 33 year career in the Army Special Forces community.
During his time with the U.S. Army, he commanded many of our nation’s most famous units during the Global War on Terror. He led one of the first groups in Afghanistan, riding in on horseback. He also led the 3rd Special Forces group in Operation Medusa, one of the most significant operations in the Afghanistan war. His unit was credited with the success of the operation, uprooting the Taliban’s tight grip in the Kandahar Province.
As a general, Bolduc served on the Joint Staff in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and aide to the secretary of the Army, routinely briefing high level government officials including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and president of the United States.
By the end of his career, he received two awards for valor, five Bronze Star medals, and two Purple Hearts. He was also one of the few survivors of both a helicopter crash and a 2,000-pound bomb that inadvertently targeted on his position by friendly fire.
After returning home to New Hampshire, Bolduc has been a tireless advocate to combat the stigma around and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bolduc lives in Stratham, New Hampshire, with his wife Sharon of 33 years. He has three sons and three grandchildren. He also has two dogs, Victor and Bara. Victor is a certified medical service dog, trained through the Guardian Angel Foundation. Bara is a former U.S. Army explosives dog, with three tours in Afghanistan of her own.
The biographical information above was sourced from the campaign website; see links above for more information.
