Tell Me About Your Favorite Top Sergeant

Command Sergeant's Major Christopher Kepner may not look like a funny guy, but here is my favorite quote from him:

Soon after Kepner became the top in Command Sergeant Major in the 28^th Combat Aviation Brigade he led an NCO Development course for all the sergeants in the brigade.  He began that course saying,

“You need to do only two things to be a leader in the United States Army. 

First, keep the men safe as much as possible.

Second, make sure your soldiers maintain standards in every area.

And how will you know if you are doing these two things?

You will eat lunch by yourself for the rest of your career.”

First Sergeants and Sergeant's Majors keep their units in fighting shape and up to standards so the officers can decide when and how they will fight.  

When my Army career ends, I want to write a book about Top Sergeants in the Army.  Let me know about your favorite--or least favorite--top sergeant in any branch of the service.  I am also interested in top sergeants in books and movies.  

Thanks for your help.  Leave a comment or write me at ngussman@yahoo.com  

Sergeant Major Moves Up

Today Command Sergeant Major Dell Christine took over responsibility as top NCO of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade.  He takes over from CSM Christopher Kepner who is now the top NCO in the 28th Infantry Division.

CSM Christine takes the sword of NCO Leadership from COL David Wood, 28th CAB Commander.  Looking on are CSM Kepner (left) and CSM Dowling.

Command Sergeant Majors are, for the most part, men with big personalities who take care of the smallest details.  CSM Christine runs the state aviation safety office as his day job.  CSM Kepner is the operations manager for Schneider National, a long-haul trucking company.  Both men spend their working life making sure that their soldiers/workers track the details that keep trucks safe on the road, aircraft safe in the flight, and soldiers safe while they train for war.  

I guess we all admire people who skills we will never have.  I have never played golf, but love to watch a golfer loft a little white ball 300 yards toward a little flag and see that ball drop, roll and stop just feet from the hole.  Or gymnasts on a balance beam!!!  

Maintaining Army standards for thousands of American soldiers--all of who want to do their own thing--that is a job I can admire from a distance, but know it is as far from my abilities as rodeo riding!

PA’s Top Enlisted Man Started His National Guard Career in 104th Aviation

Command Sergeant Major Nicholas S. “Chip” Gilliland

His career in CH-47 Chinook helicopters spans three decades, but it took about three seconds for Command Sergeant Major Nicholas S. “Chip” Gilliland to decide on his most memorable mission in a Chinook. One long night in late January 1996 four Chinook helicopters from G Company, 104th Aviation Battalion flew to Williamsport to rescue residents from raging flood waters. In nearly ten hours using every rescue technique they knew, the G Company Chinooks rescued a total of 65 flood victims.

“We set the back end of the bird down on buildings and pulled people up the ramp,” Gilliland said. “We pulled people up with the winch. We set down wherever we could to save flood victims.”

Gilliland operated the winch. For most of the night he and the other members of the crew used night vision goggles and struggled against the rapidly changing weather that caused terrible floods. The temperature was almost 60 degrees during the day, then dropped to below freezing at nightfall and was ten degrees below zero in the middle of the night. Snow squalls hampered both rescue and refueling operations throughout the night.

The floods swept rivers across Pennsylvania causing 14 deaths, damaging 30,000 homes, closing 570 roads and destroying 8 bridges. But the act of rescuing residents altered the life of one of the rescuers

Gilliland is currently serving as Senior State Enlisted Leader for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. At the time of the flood, he had served for almost ten years, that included three years on active duty, two stints in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), a ten-month recall to active duty during Operation Desert Storm, finally joining the Army National Guard in 1994.

Then in January of 1996, the rescue operation showed Gilliland the importance of well-trained aircrews ready to respond in hours to a statewide emergency. Ten years after his initial enlistment in 1986, Gilliland knew what his life’s work should be.

He served in Company G until May of 1996 when he was hired as a CH-47 instructor at the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site. Since May of 1996 he has been fully committed to aviation maintenance. At the Eastern AATS he has served as an Instructor, Enlisted Standardization Flight Instructor, Senior Instructor, Section Sergeant, Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant, culminating in his assignment as Commandant/Command Sergeant Major.

Command Sergeant Major Dell Christine, 2-104th Aviation, credits Gilliland’s leadership at EAATS with creating a culture of safety and thorough maintenance procedures that contributed to the enviable safety record the Pennsylvania National Guard Aviation has had on major deployments to Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq. “The record speaks for itself,” Christine said. “We deployed an aviation brigade to Iraq 2009 and brought all the aircraft and personnel home without a major incident.”

Gilliland says the mechanics and flight engineers who were his first mentors taught him correct procedures. “They were careful, they went by the book. They taught me to do things right.”

From overseeing flight training Gilliland took a big step up in becoming the senior enlisted leader of 17,000 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and airmen. “We have 750 men and women deployed at any given time. Thousands in the last two years,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Jessica Wright selected Gilliland from many accomplished Command Sergeant Majors and Command Chief Master Sergeants in the Pennsylvania Nation Guard. She said, “Selecting CSM Gilliland as the State Command Sergeant Major was a clear choice. Though he was surrounded by several highly qualified peers, he stood out as the person for the job.  He is a technical and tactical expert.   Chip is also a Soldier's Soldier; he serves under the mentality that he works for them, the Soldiers do not work for him."

Gilliland’s office in the headquarters building at Fort Indiantown Gap shows at a glance the care and attention to detail that mark his long career. The plaques, certificates, flags and rack of coins that mark milestones in his career are carefully arranged. His desk is organized and clear of stray paper.

When his three-year tour as Pennsylvania’s Senior Enlisted Leader ends, Gilliland said he will retire. He plans to return to work in aviation.

Who Fights This War--Command Sergeant Major

Today's post is a guest post by the commander's assistant writing about the Task Force Diablo Command Sergeant Major.

By Specialist Andrea Torrano Magee

Command Sgt. Maj. Dell Christine has proudly served in the Army for twenty-nine years. He not only enforces uniform standards in Task Force Diablo, he embodies them. He understands the importance of leading soldiers by setting the example. Once around him for any length of time, one can note he is always sporting a fresh haircut and immaculate uniform. His standards don’t end with just adhering to uniform regulations.

He is a leader who encourages troops to do their best and succeed in whatever they do. He has learned throughout his career that friendship, safety, persistence, and perseverance are what help soldiers be leaders and complete the mission with success. He is not the typical Command Sergeant Major. When one thinks of a Command Sergeant Major, they think rough, gruff, steady, intimidating and tough. Although he does exude all those qualities, he works with soldiers in a different way than most people that attain his rank. When he says he has an open door policy, he means it. He is patient, level headed, and a well rounded leader who has a sincere concern for each and every soldier in his command. His warm and open attitude and personality invite soldiers to talk to him, and they do.

As a result, many soldiers see him more than just the Command Sergeant Major.

He demonstrates many traits that successful leaders possess because he is able to work with so many different personality types. He is stern when he needs to be stern and a great listener when someone needs an ear. Often, he will stop by Lt. Col. Scott Perry’s office and round everyone up for lunch. He recognizes the struggles that we all face on deployment and has said, “You don’t realize it now, but you will miss this place. If you don’t miss the place, you’ll miss the people.” After his deployment to Afghanistan in 2003 he found that he missed eating lunch and dinner with his friends.
“The people that we see day in and day out, share meals and jokes with will work their way into your heart,” he said. “Although we are happy to see our friends and family we left behind, we will end up missing our friends that became our family on the deployment.”

He can be hard to find. He is often traveling across the base, checking in with troops and making sure everyone is okay. He often starts his day at 0400hrs with a 2 mile or more run, then he goes to his office and works well before anyone else shows up. LTC Perry usually works well past midnight, finally falling asleep a few hours prior to CSM Christine waking for the day. Their schedules overlap and it works well for the command.

CSM Christine’s day is usually packed with meetings, taking care of soldier’s issues, advising LTC Perry, and checking on troops. His day normally doesn’t end until well after 1800hrs. He usually eats lunch and dinner with the command staff. He goes to the early service at Chapel every Sunday (0900 hours, not early for him) and has coffee with Capt. Aaron Lippy at God’s Grounds after the service. He believes faith is such an important part of being whole and helps people rise above tough situations. CSM Christine will be starting a new job at Fort Indiantown Gap upon the Task Force’s return to the United States, and if it’s like anything else he’s done, he will be a great success.