Scott Perry was promoted to Brigadier General today. Pinning on the stars are his mother, Cecelia Lenig, daughters Mattea and Ryenn, and wife Christy.
On a windswept parade field on
Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in February of 2009, then Lt. Col. Scott Perry spoke to
the battalion he would command in Iraq a few months later. The soldiers at Fort Sill were the majority
of the 700 who would make up Task Force Diablo at Camp Adder, Iraq. In that speech, Perry told those troops, some
of whom were seeing their commander for the first time, that “Envy destroys
community.”
Not every commander mentions the
second worst of the Seven Deadly Sins at the beginning of a deployment, but
Perry turned that warning into a goal for every soldier. “If someone is getting something you want,
don’t envy, go and get what you want.
Don’t worry about them.”
After 35 years of service that
began with basic training in 1980 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Perry pinned on the
star of a Brigadier General and joined the very small community of soldiers who
achieve flag rank. Perry, following his
own advice, pursued his own goals and today achieved a very big goal for an
Army officer.
Following basic training, Perry
served in the enlisted ranks for several years before attending Officer
Candidate School. He was commissioned a
Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery branch, but soon branch-transferred to
Army Aviation, where he became qualified in numerous aircraft including Huey,
Cayuse, Kiowa, Cobra, Chinook, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and is an
instructor pilot. His 29 years as a pilot began with flight school in
1986 and ended this summer with a final flight at Muir Field on Fort Indiantown
Gap, Pa.
As an Aviation Officer, he has
commanded at the company, battalion and brigade levels throughout his career
including serving as company commander during a deployment to Kosovo in 2002.
Perry commanded 2-104th
General Support Aviation Battalion when it deployed to Iraq in 2009-10. During this deployment, he flew 44 combat
missions.
In 2011, he was promoted to the
rank of Colonel, and recently completed command of the Fort Indiantown Gap
National Training Site.
He presently serves Assistant
Division Commander (Support) for the 28th Infantry Division. He is a graduate
of the US Army War College with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies. In addition to serving in the Pennsylvania
Army National Guard, Perry is in his second term as a United States Congressman
representing Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District. Perry and his wife Christy are the proud
parents of two daughters, Ryenn and Mattea.