As 1st Sgt. Paul Grosch walks out the door at Headquarters & Headquarters Company-Garrison, he can look back over his shoulder knowing his last assignment was one of the best in a career filled with challenges and opportunities that turned a young man into an accomplished and successful Soldier.
With 21 years of service, Grosch is turning over his administrative duties as the senior enlisted Soldier for 650 Soldiers on Redstone Arsenal (not including the Soldiers of OMEMS, Fox Army Health Center or SMDC) and as a community liaison for the Garrison to incoming 1st Sgt. Albert Rocker, who previously served on the Arsenal in 2007 as the first sergeant of the NCO Academy. After a brief absence, Grosch hopes to return to Redstone Arsenal as a civilian employee.
"One of the highlights of my career was this job because I learned a whole lot about the business of the Army," he said.
"I was very fortunate to get this position. Most first sergeants at the company level work daily with 90 to 100 Soldiers. I was dealing with 650. The experience taught me how big Army operates and how an installation operates. That was really exciting for me. I've seen a different side of the Army - the corporate side. I got to deal with a variety of tasks with the main focus being taking care of Soldiers. There's a whole lot more to the Army than what I thought as a young person entering this field."
Grosch is known as a Soldier's Soldier, personally giving of himself to assist young Soldiers under his command. His dedication was recognized last summer when he received the 1st Sgt. John Ordway Leadership Award from the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Looking back over his career, Grosch said the challenges the Army has given him turned a planned four-year stint into a longtime military career.
"One of the intriguing things about the Army is I don't care how much you know there is always something new to learn about," he said. "That's what's kept me around for so long. With every new assignment and every promotion, there have been new challenges, constant challenges, whether they were physical, mental or both."
Grosch, 46, joined the Army in August 1988, serving in the infantry. His career has included assignments at 13 duty stations. He has served four combat tours in the Panama War, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq, he served in a combat zone in Kosovo where he did a show of force jump into the country and he served on a Multi-Force and Observer Tour between Egypt and Israel.
"Everybody in the Army is in a support role with the exception of the infantry," Grosch said, explaining his attraction to the infantry corps. "The infantry was for me because I'm kind of a thrill seeker and I wanted to do some high speed stuff. I wanted to jump out of airplanes. I wanted to be where the rubber meets the road."
The lifestyle of an infantryman has left Grosch with memories of combat and sacrifice.
"Panama was the worst combat I've ever seen," he said, referring to his first combat assignment during which his unit made a combat parachute assault into Panama in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause and fought against dictator Manuel Noriega's forces for about four months.
"It was the first time we lost a Soldier. When you are that age, you think you are 8-foot, 10 inches tall, a steel-chested winged warrior and that bullets will bounce off you. When you lose somebody, reality strikes you. I still remember the Soldier's rank and name. He was Private 1st Class James Tabor and he was 18 years old."
Grosch was also among the Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, that was the "speed bump" in the sand during Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield.
"You've heard about the line in the sand' Well, we were before the line. We were the speed bump in the sand before you got to the line," he said.
His service during wartime has made Grosch appreciative of the "simple things that most Americans take for granted," such as a hot shower, eating utensils, electricity and a daily change of clothes.
Throughout his career, Grosch has been impressed with the Army's ability to prepare Soldiers for war. He has also been frustrated, at times, with the nation's inability to stay the course during wartime.
"Our Army is well prepared. We have the best equipment. We have great leadership in the Army and great personnel," he said.
"But we are held at a different standard than our enemy. If you are going to put me in harm's way, then let me complete the mission or don't send me. I'm going to do whatever it takes to complete the mission."
Grosch has seen many Soldiers grow up in the Army. Successful Soldiers share the same attributes of dedication to the mission, discipline, intelligence, drive, and high morals and ethics.
"A good Soldier is someone who will not accept defeat," he said. "More than anything, a Soldier has to be disciplined. Some people are born with discipline and, if not, they can be taught it. But the ones who come into the Army with discipline are one step ahead."
Grosch's last duty assignment before Redstone Arsenal was at the Marion Military Institute, where he was the senior military science instructor for 335 cadets.
"That was a great job, too. It's very exciting to be able to put your stamp on young folks," Grosch said. "I'd love to continue to mentor Soldiers. But there's nothing that says I have to do that wearing ACUs."
Retiring can be hard on someone who is a workaholic. But, for Grosch, it is an opportunity to work on his farm in Rogersville, spend time with wife Becky, who owns a florist and gift business, and his two college-age children, and complete one great career and begin another.
"This is a young man's game, especially if you're in the infantry," he said of the Army. "Walking 25 miles with a 100-pound rucksack on your back starts taking its toll on you.
"I'm really excited about the opportunities at Redstone Arsenal in the civilian sector. I love it here. I love the people. I love the area. I know from experience that you can live and work absolutely anywhere as long as you're surrounded by good people."
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