Adjutant General

Well World I know that it has been awhile since my last post. I cannot give you any excuses except that I have been really busy since the last time I posted anything on my Army Strong blog.
 

Since the last time I posted anything, I have had several life changing events to occur that would change my life forever. I do not remember if I mentioned it on any of my other blog posting but I decided to re enlist in the United States Army.
 

Before I started posting my story on Army Strong Stories.com when it was just starting to gain its popularity before you could actually post your own things yourself without not sending you post to the site managers first, I had about a six month period in my Army a career and my life that was really rough for me and I wanted to get out of the Army. I had made plans to advance my career and for reason that I will not get into my plans did not work out. The only thing I will say is that it was God’s and the universes’ way of making me humble. I was in Korea at the time and felt like I had no one in my corner and I was going through a lot, personally and professionally.
 

I would say that around the time that I started posting on the blog was the turning point of my career. I was coming toward the end of my enlistment and I did not want to quit the Army. Yeah I had people in positions of leadership that disappointed me and gave me a hard time, but then I had people that supported me and saw that I was actually a good Soldier, such as 1SG Allen and Sgt Barrington. Of course they told me about myself, they did that a lot, but those to NCO’s are ultimately the reason why I decided to stay in, even if I did not get a bonus or the duty station of my choice. Even if I was assigned to a unit at Fort Leavenworth, I was staying in.the Army.
 

So while I was in WLC I re enlisted, with orders to Fort Leavenworth. I was assigned to the 40th MP BN, the battalion that manned the United States Disciplinary Barracks, in other words the only maximum security prison facility in the United States Armed Forces.
 

So at the end of June 09, I left Korea, the only place that I had known for the past 2 ½ years to PCS to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
 

To my surprise while I was on PCS leave I found out that I left Korea with more than I came there with. I found out in July while on leave that in about 8 or so months I was going to be a mother. You would think at 28 years of age, it would be something that I would be able to deal with it. Believe me it took some coming to terms with. I knew that being a single parent was going to take some adjusting too, and I knew that the chances that me and child’s father would maintain any type of relationship other than parents outside of Korea is unlikely. Anyone that knows anything about Korea knows what I am talking about.
Well world, no one likes to read long blogs so I will continue the update on my next posting. Until next time world, STAY BLESSED.
 

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Hello everyone, I have not posted in a while, so please forgive me. I have been very busy lately doing the First Sergeant thing, but here I am. This past Saturday we attended our daughter and son's Pop Warner Sports Banquet and it went really well. My daughter was the Captain of the cheerleading squad for the Pee Wee team in which my son was a safety and cornerback for. They had an okay year, they ended up 5-6 after starting out 4-0. This was only the second year for the association so they did okay. It was the first year for the Cheerleading squad and they won first place and that was great! Pop Warner is a great program and it teaches the kids team work as well as putting an emphasis on school work. My son will be up for a Pop Warner scholar athlete award. It was a fun year getting to see them grow and learn all year. So, until next time take care.

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I am officially on Active Duty and just received my first paycheck. It is a relieving feeling to have the security of a guaranteed check the 1^st and 15^th of every month. Although being in college was fun, I am starting to like and appreciate the duty day hours for my job as a Gold Bar Recruiter. The process for acquiring my job was just a matter of requesting it before commissioned into Active Duty, and if there is a slot available, and you meet the qualifications you're hired.

The way it works is a new Lieutenant generally has a few months after he or she commissions before going to their Branch Officer Basic Course. I do not leave for my course (Adjutant General OBC) until March of 2010. The last thing I wanted to do was deploy to Fort Living Room after commissioning. That would give me time to get lazy on PT and work at some minimum wage job, no thanks.

So I pushed hard to get a Gold Bar Recruiting job. This job puts you on Active Duty before going to OBC, and is a good transition from college life to Active Army life. I have close to the same hours that I will have on Active Duty, and of course the same pay. I work with the ROTC office and help with officer recruiting efforts for the program. My schedule looks like this, I get up at 0500 to get ready for physical training (PT) at 0600. We work out in a small group, me, my boss Captain Campbell and 5 cadets. We go on long distance runs, conduct weight room exercises, play racquetball, do push-ups, sit-ups and other varieties of a challenging work out.

After PT I get to the office at 0830. I then receive my morning brief from Captain Campbell on what he has planned for the day and get to work (after checking facebook of course). Captain Campbell is the Enrollment and Scholarship Officer for the Military Science Department at Mankato State. I help him by following up on leads and setting up appointments to talk to potential students about what the ROTC program has to offer. Since I know the campus, and the program very well its a fitting position for me.  

The product I am most proud of is a packet I created for potential students and ROTC candidates to MSU. The packet included an 8 page newsletter displaying what ROTC is all about, a biography of the cadre, and essential deadlines that the students need for scholarship opportunities. It took me a week to put it together, it definitely felt good to have the envelopes sealed and sent out. Some other things I have done are created posters and flyers to advertise our program on campus. I also created a flyer for a 5k Veteran’s Day run and posted them around the local area. As a Mass Communications major, some of the things that I am doing ties into what I learned in school, it is nice to keep my skills sharp. Then every so often Captain Campbell and I will set up a "meet-and-greet" table on campus to talk to students as they are going to class to see if anyone is interested in ROTC.

It’s a pretty good job, and I look forward to coming to work every day. If you are sitting there wondering if the Army would be too “hard” or demanding of your time, just think about what else you would be doing after college. Many people have to move back with their parents because they racked up a ton of student loans and other debt, and go back to working the same job they did in high school. If you play it right, you can get the Army to pay back your student loans, you just have to agree to serving more years. If you put only one more year on your contract, the Army will pay up to $25,000 in school loans. Not a bad deal!

That job-finding situation is common because of the tight job market, and that is not where I wanted to be. Even if you are well connected and a top-performer with in college, it is still unlikely you could get a job that pays as well as a new LT (About $ 45,000 a year after taxes) with full medical and dental coverage and a long list of other benefits that goes along with being an Active Duty Soldier. And every year there is a military-wide pay increase, this year's was 3.9%, so every soldier's pay goes up by that much. The pay varies depending on if you have prior military service but even if you are brand new, and you managed to keep your debt under control, the pay is very good. And (unlike much of the private sector) your pay goes up by a significant amount after every promotion which is usually every 15-18 months for the first two promotions. From 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant it varies, but you can count on at least a $700 a month pay bump after 18 months as a 2nd Lieutenant.

After your LT time, you could become a Captain in 5 years or less which is the equivalent of an executive manager at a company. And the Army has it set up so you know exactly what you need to do, and what kind of Officer you need to be to get there. If you put in 20 years of service, you have a full military pension that will carry with you the rest of your life, in addition to whatever retirement account you may have set up on your own, you can’t say that about too many other jobs. And that retirement check goes up every year to combat inflation as per budgetary decisions by Congress.

I don't mean to put too much emphasis on the money aspect of serving, but I am putting it out there so that you can compare to other jobs. And also keep in mind that it is salary pay, you get the same check on the 1st and the 15th of every month regardless if you work overtime. There will be days when you work into the night, and go through training that lasts for weeks or months without much of a break. Then there are days when you work "half days", or you enjoy the luxury of having all federal holidays off (and 30 days of paid vacation leave time). Your free time/work time usually balances out over the year if you are stateside, (unless you are prepping for a deployment, then you don't get a lot of free time).

Being in the military is certainly a challenging life, but in a good way. Your daily tasks keeps you motivated and gives you a purpose that goes beyond making money for someone else, keeps you in shape, and you have constant contact with motivated driven people like yourself. And of course you are able to lead and work with people from all different backgrounds while serving your nation. The Army truly is a big community, and communities are lacking in today’s private sector. I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be and I look forward to future challenges once I get to my unit at Fort Stewart. Thanks for reading.

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The University of Texas at Arlington offers the "Maverick Speakers Series", a free to the public opportunity to listen to (and dialog with) some of the most influential voices in politics, science, art, and business today.  I often encourage my cadets to attend these events, especially the speakers that have something to say about the future of today's American military.

Last night, I attended the sold out lecture by David Gergen, CNN's Political Analyst.  Gergen has been an observer, analyst, and participant in American politics for more than 30 years. Though he's perhaps best known for his insightful commentary on CNN, he formerly served as director of communications for President Reagan and held positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford. He counseled President Clinton on foreign policy and domestic affairs and was special international adviser to the president and to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

Besides his work on CNN, Gergen is a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is also editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. He also authored the best-selling Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.
 

More than his impressive resume, he was simply a great speaker.  I enjoyed his description of the "WWII Presidents" (Presidents Eisenhower through Bush Sr.) who had grown up/come of age during WWII.  All except for Carter (who was still a midshipman at the US Naval Academy at the conclusion of WWII) had been influenced significantly through their military service during the war.  This shared sacrifice and service to an objective larger than themselves couldn't help but shape their administrations.

As a member of a generation that is decades removed from the experiences of these "WWII Presidents", I wonder what our experiences in shared sacrifice and service to something bigger than ourselves might be.

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Here is an article that the University of Texas at Arlington student newspaper wrote regarding higher than avergae female enrollment in the UT Arlington Corps of Cadets.  Interesting read.

Women enrollment in ROTC exceeds brigade average (Written by Lataisha Jackson, The Shorthorn staff)
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 07:07 PM

The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps and Maverick Battalion has more women enrolled this semester than the brigade average.

Women make up 55 of 166 ROTC cadets at the university. The 33 percent enrollment rate places the program above the 5th brigade average of 21.9 percent. The 5th brigade covers programs in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona and Missouri. Texas Christian University is part of the 5th brigade with a women’s enrollment rate at 33 percent.

Women’s military involvement is increasing, but women are the minority in the ROTC program and the Army. The U.S. Army active duty recruitment is up to 16.28 percent, Lt. Col. Tom Matchin, Jr. said.

Senior cadet Jaime Sale said women are becoming a more dominant in the culture than in the past.

ROTC has allowed women since 1976, the same year West Point started admitting women. Before this time, women were only affiliated with the ROTC program as ROTC Sweethearts, the official hostesses of the cadet core. Entering in 1976, Susan Tillotson became the first female battalion commander. She is actively engaged with the ROTC program as a member of the Cadet Corps Alumni Council.

The Army ROTC program does not have strategies or quotas for targeting specific recruits based on ethnicity or gender, said Lt. Col. Albert Alba.

“We want to have a diverse school by recruiting,” he said. “The Army does the same thing.”

According to the Demographic Trends spreadsheet, for the past four years women have comprised more than 51 percent of the university’s enrollment. This year’s demographics have not been compiled yet, said Terri Day, Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness assistant director.

Sophomore cadet Melanie Vega said many women are in the program, but it will not affect her Army experience.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with male or female,” Vega said. “Being around different cultures and different perspectives is what’s going to make the difference.”

Other cadets said it is beneficial to have a higher percentage of women in Army ROTC for Army experience.

“It adds to the training here because it is not an all-male army,” senior cadet Erik McCaffrey said. “We learn how to interact and effectively lead females.”

There are different physical training standards for males and females, according to the Army Physical Fitness Test Standards Web site .

Despite these standards, McCaffrey said the women are at par with the men and mentioned Sale, a top performing female cadet.

“She gives me a run for my money in physical training,” McCaffrey said.

The cadets are held to the same standards in their class work.

“We are all expected to learn the same amount of knowledge because we are all preparing to be officers in the army,” Vega said.

Cadets graduating from the Army ROTC program enter the Army as second lieutenants and get an automatic promotion in 18 months to first lieutenant, said alumna and 2nd Lt. Bethany Nord.

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Fall has arrived and I am excited! This is my favorite season and I have missed it the past two years due to deployments. Many times during the deployment I thought about home, the leaves changing colors, the crisp cool air and everyone getting ready for Thanksgiving. Luckily, last year I made it back a couple of days just before Thanksgiving and was able to celebrate this great American tradition with my family. This year, as we get closer to this holiday, I cannot help thinking of my fellow Army comrades in harm’s way, and pray that they return home soon and safe. May they be able to be with their families this holiday season.

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Hello, how is everyone? Well today I wanted to share with everyone my son playing tackle football for the first time and my daughter cheerleading for the first time. My son Dontae has been used to playing flag football so playing tackle has been a big adjustment. He started out a little timid and did not want to hit or be hit, but now that we are four games into the season he has made huge strides and I am so proud of him. He plays for Northeast Seminoles here in Columbia, SC and they are now 4-0 on the season, he plays safety and cornerback. My daughter Kadi is the captain of the NE Seminoles Cheerleading squad and she has done an outstanding job and I am so proud of her as well. It has been great to be able to see them play and cheer and hopefully the team can continue winning and end up in Florida playing in the Pop Warner championship. GO SEMINOLES!

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I'm back! It has been a while since my last posting. I was trying to get an active-duty tour. I almost got to go to Iraq, but he unit had all the officers it needed and left without me (sob, sob!) Yeah, it sounds crazy, but some of us actually like to go on missions, no matter where. do not take me wrong, I am no Rambo, but I truly like to serve my country as a soldier.

I was trying to get a mission in South America, but was offered a position in Fort Dix, which i accepted. So next year I will be the S-1 (Human Resources Officer) at the RTC mission in Fort Dix. Whoa! i am looking forward to get there. The good thing about this is that at least I will be in th U.S. and will get to see my family once in a while, as opposed to be overseas.

Next month (October) I will start my first class the Masters in Information Technology at Strayer University. I considered an MBA, and actually was registered with another university, but decided to go for computers as this always been my "first love". I was a Computer Science major back in 1984, worked as a computer operator for many years in both civilian and the military, and have this as one of my hobbies. It should take me about three years part-time to complete the program.

The picture on the left was taken before my unit left from Camp Eagle II in Saudi Arabia toward Kuwait back in 1991. the group was formed by all the "chairbornes" of the division: Personnel, JAG, IG, Finance, etc. The one on the right was taken also in 1991, right before the air campaign started. I actually got to take some R&R in the famous "Love Boat." It says "Cunard Princess" because it was acquired by this company, but used to be the "Pacific Princess."  Some of my buddies got mad becasue i was chosen to go, even when I did not drink alcohol (that is all that was on their minds!). Well, you don't have to drink to have fun! I enjoyed the trip and have good memories of it, contrary to those who jut got drunk their time there.

Well, time to go. Stay tuned for more, and God bless!

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Hello again to everyone, It has been a little while since my last post, so I will post one now. I have been in the First Sergeant Position for over two months now and I will tell you that is not easy starting a company from scratch. The company was activated in May and they have been through three different First Sergeants in that short amount of time. So, really there has been no time to really start programs such as NCODP, Warrior Skills Training, NCO/Soldier of the Month boards and so on. I have been working diligently the last two months to try and get these programs underway. It is even harder when you factor in that all of my personnel work in the Brigade HQs, S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4, S-6, and UMT. I only have 60 personnel, but I have only seven SPCs, and the rest are Officers, NCOs and Civilians. This makes it hard to conduct training, because we can never shut down the sections. I am blessed to have great personnel, up until now, we have not had anyone in trouble, so that shows that my NCOs are taking care of Soldiers and ensuring that they are doing the right things on and off duty. Being a First Sergeant is hard enough, but when you have to build the company, it makes it harder. Until next time, take care.

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Even though it was hot and sticky, on August 8, 2009 there was a "feeling" in the air. The day I finally received my 2nd Lieutenant rank, signed my contract to make it official, and said the oath of office (again). I was lucky to be able to have the ceremony at my house in front of my family and friends.

Lt. Col Cooper made some nice remarks during his speech saying "If my kids were of age to be lead by Lieutenant Riggs, I would have absolutely no problem if they were under his command." His words made me feel proud of my accomplishments in ROTC.  After Colonel Coopers words, my dad and my grandpa, pinned my 2nd Lieutenant rank on my shoulders. I rendered my first salute to my best friend Sergeant Matthew Hite. It is customary to have an NCO salute a newly-commissioned officer. During this time, the new officer gives the NCO a silver dollar. This transaction signifies the respect between the NCO corps (the backbone of the army) and the officer core. It was a great feeling that the friend I grew up with and went to war with was able to be the first to salute me as an officer.

Sergeant Hite has been in the National Guard 8 years, and during my first year as a soldier helped me out alot by showing me the ropes, and making me feel welcomed to Alpha Company 2/135, the guys I used to serve with. I owe thanks to another friend, Charles Larson pictured below in the button-up shirt, my team leader for some time at Alpha Company. He evetually became my roomate in Afghanistan and a very good friend. He showed me a lot about what it means to be a combat soldier, and the things that were really important. Such as when I asked him how much ammo to take on a mission, his reply was "all of it". I won't ever forget those small words of wisdom. My platoon leader from Afghanistan Ian Erickson also told me "What your doing here will earn you the right to do whatever you want with your life, if you want to be a bum on the street, you have earned that right, and can do that with dignity," and I still believe him. His sheer will to serve and be a leader was an influence on my decision  to be a leader.

Sgt. Hite and my first Salute:

As a prior infantry soldier, sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice going into the non-combat sector. But I have talked to many officers and soldiers in this area, and they feel the job is just as important as combat, and there will be just as many challenges in this field, I hope they are right.

Ian Erickson and I backpacking in Australia:

In 7 months time I will be off to my final officer training school at Ft. Jackson South Carolina, or "relaxin' Jackson" as I have heard it called. Which I am okay with, I have had enough fun at Fort Benning, Fort Hood and Ft. Lewis in my time in the Army (7 years), so I will welcome the change in the training tempo. These officer schools like some others are "gentleman's courses", this means that you train hard during the day, and go home at night, and have the weekends off. I think this is a great way to run a training school, because it allows you to take a mental break every day, which enables you to be more focused during training. In the "locked down" training environments such as basic soldier training, I found that a majority of my thought was focused on when I was finally going to get the heck out of there, which should not be the focus. But I'm sure some of that had to do with the fact that I was under 18 or 19 years old, a young age to be dedicated to such causes.

The training at AGOBC (Adjutant General Officer Basic Course) will be focused on basic officer combat skills like leading convoys and missions, as well as more branch-specific training. My branch, Adjutant General, will deal with the Army's human resource management systems. Soldier's pay, medical, dental, career records, and all things administrative will be covered here.
I am certainly looking forward to this new chapter in my military career, and I will have plenty more to write once the ball starts rolling next March.

Infantry School, Fort Benning 2003:                                   Commissioning 2009

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