AG Corps bestows top honors

By Fort Jackson Leader staff reportJune 5, 2014

Col. John Finke
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Chief Warrant Officer 5 Scott Hagar
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Command Sgt. Maj. Keith Miller
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Brig. Gen. Eric Porter
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Col. Wayne Morris
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Col. Samuel Retherford
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Chief Warrant Officer 5 Charles Wigglesworth
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Adjutant General's Corps Hall of Fame induction
8 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Newly appointed distinguished members of the Adjutant General's Corps Regiment are recognized in a ceremony May 30, 2014, at the Soldier Support Institute, Fort Jackson, S.C. Seven former Soldiers were inducted into the Adjutant General's Corps Hall ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (June 5, 2014) -- The Adjutant General's Corps welcomed seven former Soldiers to its Hall of Fame in a ceremony Friday at the Soldier Support Institute. In addition, 24 current and former Soldiers and civilians were appointed Distinguished Members of the Regiment.

"The individuals seated here today have made it their lives' passion to morally, legally and ethically care for our Soldiers and their families," said Col. Todd Garlick, chief of the Adjutant General's Corps and commandant of the Adjutant General School. "And today's events are a small token of our appreciation for their selfless service and commitment to the Army and the Army's Soldiers."

The AG Corps Hall of Fame was established in 2010 to recognize people who have made positive, lasting and significant contributions to the Corps, Garlick said. Members are honored with a display at the AG School's Hall of Honor. Hall of Fame members and Distinguished Members of the Regiment are selected by a board of AG Corps senior leaders. A 75 percent approval is required.

"As with previous years' classes, selection in either category was extremely competitive as we continue to raise the bar with each and every class," Garlick said.

This year's Hall of Fame inductees are:

RETIRED BRIG. GEN. ERIC PORTER

-- Porter consistently epitomized the finest qualities of leadership and commitment to selfless service throughout his distinguished career. Porter developed a General Officer Gap Analysis to identify gaps in general officer leadership at critical times across the force. Porter identified sourcing solutions for the fiscal year 2010 engineer unit deployments in support of combatant command requirements and synchronized deployment schedules.

-- Porter included echelons above brigade engineer battalions into National Training Center rotations, and by doing so raised the visibility of Armywide engineer equipment shortages to the Department of the Army.

-- In coordination with the Office of the Surgeon General, Medical Command and the Forces Command Surgeon, Porter oversaw implementation of pre-deployment automated neuropsychological assessment metrics for all Soldiers.

-- Porter was a frequent and prolific contributor to the transformation efforts of Forces Command. He executed a very successful Forces Command leader development program with the Center for Creative Leadership, which provided great leadership training to high performing majors, lieutenant colonels, and civilians.

-- After retiring in 2011, Porter was appointed to the Senior Executive Service where he now serves as the assistant deputy chief of staff, G1, Forces Command.

RETIRED COL. JON FINKE

-- Finke served as the director of enlisted personnel management at Human Resources Command where he was directly responsible for maintaining the readiness of the Army through complete lifecycle management of nearly 450,000 enlisted Soldiers in the active force. Finke spearheaded all management actions with the Army G1, Army commands and basic branch proponents to improve the health and professional development of the enlisted force.

-- Finke served as the adjutant general for Forces Command, which includes more than 725,000 active and reserve-component Soldiers. He was directly responsible for personnel core functions, including enlisted and officer strength management, active and Reserve readiness management, casualty operations, personnel operations, personnel policy and the power projection enhancement team.

-- Since retiring in 2010, Finke has worked as the chief of Reserve Appointments and Active Guard and Reserve Accessions Branch where he was the principal civilian advisor for the Army's Reserve Appointments and Active Guard and Reserve Accession Programs, to include the officer candidate program and recall programs worldwide for commissioned officers and warrant officers. Finke is currently the chief of the Operations Management Division, working under the director of Enlisted Personnel Management, where he is responsible for supporting the Army's enlisted personnel management systems.

RETIRED COL. WAYNE MORRIS

-- Morris was awarded the nation's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, while commanding a rifle platoon as a first lieutenant in Vietnam. After commanding both an AG company and a military entrance processing command, Morris served as the chief of Headquarters Department of the Army Awards and Decorations Policy Section. Here, Morris came across several awards that were unjustly disapproved. Morris was instrumental in ensuring these awards were processed appropriately.

-- During his assignment as an action officer in the Officer Policy Division, Department of the Army G1, Morris was responsible for Army policy development in the areas of officer education and training, the Army proponent system, the Army education requirements board, and officer professional development. Morris was able to develop a more accurate officer forecast and save considerable officer resources.

-- Morris completed, briefed and staffed for approval the first Army proponent system regulation, which has made lasting contributions to the Army personnel system.

-- Morris was elected to the Tennessee Technological University Reserve Officers Training Corps Hall of Fame in 2009.

RETIRED COL. SAMUEL RETHERFORD

-- As the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for military personnel, or DASA (MP), Retherford's leadership and professionalism has led the Army's personnel community during the height of contingency operations, throughout transformation, and during personnel services delivery redesign. Retherford's supervision of Army human resource policies and personnel management programs was an integral part in the development of critical human resources enterprise initiatives, including the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, Integrated Personnel Pay System -- Army, the Women in Services Review, and the new Officer Evaluation Report.

-- Prior to serving as the DASA (MP), Retherford served in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, where he championed numerous Department of Defense efforts to improve readiness and promote Army initiatives.

-- Since retiring in 2004, Retherford has served in a number of significant human resources positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, culminating in his appointment to the Senior Executive Service and assignment as deputy assistant secretary of the Army for military personnel.

RETIRED CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 5 SCOTT HAGAR

-- Throughout his 31 years of service to the Adjutant General's Corps, Hagar has served as an enlisted Soldier, warrant officer and in several volunteer positions.

-- In May 2004, Hagar was selected by Gen. Daniel McNeill, the commanding general of Forces Command, to serve as his assistant executive officer. During his tenure with Forces Command, Hagar became the subject matter expert on aviation flight planning and coordination. McNeill requested Hagar deploy in order to assist with the transition for the first American International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, in Afghanistan.

-- As chief warrant officer of the AG Corps from 2009 to 2011, Hagar met all accession goals while growing the human resource warrant officer population to meet the increasing demand and requirements throughout the Army. He vastly improved the quality of applicants and continued to target warrant officer recruiting efforts toward the top 3 percent of the AG noncommissioned officer corps. He worked with the Human Resource Command adjutant general warrant officer assignment manager, increasing the percentage of human resource warrant officers who have deployed to above 92 percent. Hagar traveled extensively throughout the Army's formations and installations, visiting active and reserve component units. During these visits, Hagar provided valuable professional development sessions and gathered essential feedback to enhance and improve the AG warrant officer corps.

RETIRED CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 5 CHARLES WIGGLESWORTH

-- Wigglesworth's Army career covered four decades, starting in the Vietnam era. Wigglesworth started his career by enlisting in the AG Corps. His first assignment as an AG warrant officer was as the chief or the Records Division in Karlsruhe, Germany. In a later assignment at Fort Rucker, Alabama, he was placed in charge of several divisions in the AG directorate because of his known ability to quickly achieve results and his well-documented level of expertise in human resources.

-- Wigglesworth's record of performance and achievement was also reflected by his selection for promotion to chief warrant officer four from below the zone, an achievement that very few AG warrant officers can claim.

-- Following his promotion to chief warrant officer five in 2003, Wigglesworth was selected to serve as the first chief warrant officer of the AG Corps. In 2005, Wigglesworth was selected to serve as the deputy commandant of the Warrant Officer Career College at Fort Rucker. This is significant because this position typically goes to one of the most respected warrant officers in the Warrant Officer Corps.

-- Today, Wigglesworth is a DA civilian continuing to serve the Army as the S1 for the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker.

RETIRED COMMAND SGT. MAJ. KEITH MILLER

-- Miller's career spans the full range of Army and AG Corps units and positions. Starting as a company clerk, he rapidly advanced through the ranks to the highest enlisted AG position of leadership as the command sergeant major of the Army's Total Personnel Command.

-- Each of Miller's promotions, from E-2 to E-9, was an accelerated promotion (below the zone), enabling him to become one of the youngest sergeants major in the Army, achieving this rank before his 18th year of service. His records are replete with evidence of a Soldier who never shied away from challenges and always sought leadership roles.

-- In recognition of his technical competence and no-nonsense leadership style, he was selected by the III Corps AG and G1 to take over as the first sergeant of a personnel services company. During this assignment his unit was rated as the best trained in III Corps, and had a perfect safety record.

-- Miller was a key leader in the organization and activation of the newly formed 3rd Personnel Group. As the group's first command sergeant major, he undertook the responsibility to organize and integrate units from the active, National Guard, and Reserve components.

-- In retirement, Miller has remained in direct support of many of the Army's key human resource programs.

The 2014 Distinguished Members of the Regiment are Maj. Gen. Barry Price; Brig. Gen. Margarett Barnes; Retired Col. Wayne Morris; Retired Col. Samuel Retherford; Retired Lt. Col. George Piccirilli; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Scott Hagar; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ronald Mavity; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Edwin Nievesbeauchamp; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Janice Ready; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Percy Butler; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Lisa Guynn; Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Rafael Santos; Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Harold Blount; Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Culbertson; Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jane Cunningham; Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Keith Miller; Retired Sgt. Maj. Stanley Ashford; Retired Sgt. Maj. John Heinrichs; Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Jackson; Retired Sgt. Maj. Jerome Rice; Retired Sgt. Maj. Gabriella Russum; Retired Sgt. Maj. Frank Shaffery; Martha Carden Gilchrist; and Lois Stevens.