1. My Short Story entitled “Excellent Tenure in the Armed Forces” – September 10, 2009
I have departed the U.S. Army with some great memories. Not everyone has the opportunity to explore
the best of both worlds while on active duty. I entered active duty with two years of college. I entered as a
Private, 73C, Finance Specialist. I earned the rank of Staff Sergeant, E-6, within only six years. The latter
was due to growing up in a household with traditional family values, excellent mentorship from
subordinates, and unprecedented leadership that I received. My duty stations as an enlisted soldier
included Fort Jackson, S.C. where I attended basic training, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana where I
completed most of my Advanced Individual Training (AIT), Hanau, Germany, and Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Maryland. Sure, I was stationed at good ole’ Aberdeen for 2 1/2 years. As a Specialist, E-4, I
deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield/ Storm with the 3rd AD. While deployed, I was assigned
to a mobile pay team that consisted of traveling to various sites to take care of soldier pay problems and
payments. Those of you who received the old “Green 5-page” LES understand what I am talking about.
We did not have the advanced finance databases back then that we have now. Paying deployed soldiers
via Cash Collection Vouchers (CCVs) was a very time consuming task, but it had to be done. We call this
the field expedient method of doing business. Acquisition professionals call it an 80% solution.
True story: I recall our finance team seeking a slogan to place at the bottom of the Leave and Earnings
Statements (LESs). We had really good intentions, but it did not turn out quite like we thought it would.
Needless to say, not everyone was happy with our slogan. We’ll, we decided to place, “Have a nice day!”
at the bottom of the LES’s. Wouldn’t you think that this would make someone’s day on the 1st and 15th of
the month? Not everyone was happy to see this after looking at their Net Pay which read, “0” or had a
negative balance. My supervisor hit the roof! Our detachment was told to sustain from placing slogans on
the earnings statements. Furthermore, our company motto, ‘No Pay Due” did not help matters and
eventually we were told to change it. All in all, we had really good intentions.
My greatest accomplishments as a Noncommissioned Officer were being a soldier. I burned feces in the
deployed and field environments (sure I wore my protective mask because of the smell), lived in indigent
barracks with two other privates, pulled mess hall duties; post duties; sick call duties; duties; called on by
“Hey You” instead of my name for details; competed and won various soldier of the year and NCO of the
year boards; attended the primary leadership development course and the basic noncommissioned
officers course; team leader; squad leader, and later platoon leader. “Stop, Breathe, and Smile”. Boy,
those were the good ole’ days. Most officers will never know what it’s like to really be a soldier and live
the life of a soldier. Treat a soldier well. They are our greatest asset.
To make a short story long, I was accepted into Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA after going
through rigorous physical training and a series of boards and examinations. I was commissioned 2nd
Lieutenant and branched Air Defense Artillery on 25 January 1995. One day after graduation, I began
jump school at Fort Benning, GA. After jump school, I was assigned to my branch to begin my training. I
will not go into all of the training, but will discuss a little about my experiences as a Battery Commander
which was the best time I’ve ever had in my entire military career. I was selected to command Bravo 1/1
ADA Battery which was one of six battery’s assigned to the 31st ADA Brigade. I commanded 86 soldiers
which consisted of 77 males and the remaining were females. Of the 86, five were platoon leaders and
one Executive Officer. My greatest experiences were leading officers to become successful leaders and
mentors, soldiers to become successful noncommissioned officers, respected civilians, and some even
became warrant and commissioned officers. Because I once was a soldier, it was easy for me to
influence and persuade my troops to meet or exceed mission requirements. Did I micromanage? Sure, I

2. did. My platoon sergeants would tactfully ask me to back off a little so they can lead. Sometimes I would
forget that I no longer wore that platoon sergeant hat. I guess once a soldier always a soldier.
My battery was named by the Brigade Commander as the “Best Battery”. We won various streamers for
the highest reenlistments, no DUI/DWI, APFT average above 250 consistently, weapons qualification
above 90%, air battle crew drills certifications at 100%, effective family support group, and always met or
exceeded unannounced alerts, just to name a few. The brigade commander awarded my battery as the
best battery in the battalion and I was rated as the top battery commander in the battalion during my
rating period. Some of my assignments included: Consecutive tours in Korea where I served as an Air
Defense Artillery Maintenance and Fire Control Platoon Leader for 1-43 ADA. I was asked to extend
another year to serve as the Executive Officer for the 1-43 ADA which I proudly accepted. My follow-on
assignments consisted of Liaison in the Air Force Operations Center at Ali Al Salem, AFB, Brigade
Tactical Director and Assistant Brigade Operations Officer for the 11th and 31st ADA Brigade, Fort Bliss,
Texas; deployed again in support of Ulchi Focus Lens 2000 to perform duties as a Battle Captain, then
back to Fort Bliss, Texas, and then later assessed Acquisition. I actually wanted Human Resources but
was told that the Acquisition Corps needed officers with various skills.
I’ve looked everywhere and I still have yet to find the skills needed to be assessed acquisition. I later
realized what those skills were. I actually had some. I am familiar with a lot and a master of none. Go
figure!
As an Acquisition Officer, I was assigned to the Army Test and Evaluation Command, Alexandria, VA. I
served as the Assistant Evaluation Officer for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense missile defense
program and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for a contract of approximately 32 Science and
Engineering Technical Assistance personnel with a value in excess of $6 million per year that directly
supported the Operational Test Assessment (OTA) limited defensive operational assessment of the
Ballistic Missile Defense System. After learning about Training With Industry (TWI), I applied and was
accepted to train for one year at the Computer Sciences Corporation, Falls Church, VA. This was by far
one of the most realistic acquisition experiences I’ve held thus far. I say this because I had the
opportunity to work among our partners, understand how contractors respond to RFPs, hear their
complaints about the government, learn their business practices, understand how corporations make
money, and most of all make a lot of new friends and contacts, just to name a few. An even more realistic
experience was as an APM and DCGS-A Version 2 Implementation Chief in OIF where I executed one of
the Headquarters Department of the Army G2′s top priority programs providing cradle-to-grave acquisition
support to the intelligence units in Iraq. I worked with some of the most knowledgeable NCOs, DA
Civilians, and contractors. We fielded and sustained over 200 systems positioned across 42 operating
bases. So, why am I retiring? I am ready to take my 22 years of experience that I’ve learned and earned
and apply it to a career where I can continue to grow as a leader, make a positive difference in a
Government or corporate organization, and in my own business.
I’ve never stopped having fun. My fun is just beginning…..
“Army Strong” by S.M.O. 10 September 2009