Fort Leonard Wood Soldier wins coveted MacArthur Leadership award

By U.S. ArmyMarch 29, 2012

Fort Leonard Wood Soldier wins coveted MacArthur Leadership award
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FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Out of thousands, only 14 active-duty Soldiers Army-wide had what it takes to win the prestigious Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award this year -- two of them from the U. S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, one of them from Fort Leonard Wood.

Capt. Charles Mallard, Company A commander, 787th Military Police Battalion, 14th Military Police Brigade thought just being nominated was honor enough and attributes his new award to his fellow Soldiers.

"It's a great honor. We have a lot of great people within this battalion and Fort Leonard Wood. I was happy just to be nominated. I may be the one receiving the award but this is absolutely a team effort," Mallard said. "It's a credit to the people I work with."

The Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award recognizes company grade officers who demonstrate the ideals for which Gen, MacArthur stood -- duty, honor, country.

This distinguished award isn't the first for Mallard. Among his numerous leadership awards in 2004, he was selected as Fort Leonard Wood's Drill Sergeant of the Year.

He said the awards are nice, but they are just icing on the cake for his career. Mallard prides himself most with turning civilians into Warriors.

"I don't come to work every day to win Drill Sergeant of the Year or the Gen. MacArthur Leadership Award. I come to work because our young Soldiers deserve a leader that cares about them and about what they are going to train on that day," Mallard said. "A commander in TRADOC has the duty of training the newest enlisted members of our Army. The cadre and I take this very seriously."

His next assignment will also be here at Fort Leonard Wood. He was happy to be assigned to Combined Arms Tactical Directorate teaching Basic Officer Leadership Course for the U.S. Army Military Police School.

"I think Fort Leonard Wood is the premiere training installation in TRADOC," Mallard said.

Mallard said he has obtained much of his knowledge about leadership from watching the superiors he has been blessed with during his 16 years in the Army.

"Currently my mentor is Lt. Col. (Randall) Thrash. He says being a higher rank is not about taking care of yourself, but an opportunity to effect more people positively," Mallard said.

Thrash, 787th Military Police Battalion commander, believes Mallard was an obvious choice to nominate for the leadership award.

"Capt. Mallard exemplifies Gen. Douglas MacArthur's hallowed words: Duty, Honor, Country -- what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. He always demonstrates what right looks like, whether on duty or off duty. I have never met a more competent, confident or compassionate leader in my 23 years of service," Thrash said.

As a former Gen. MacArthur Award winner himself, Thrash was overjoyed when word arrived that Mallard was chosen this year.

"The feeling of pride was ten-fold what I felt when I won the Gen. MacArthur Award back in 2000, because this is for one of my Soldiers who gives 110 percent every day," Thrash said. "Not only is Capt. Mallard an exemplary leader, he is an admirable person."

Mallard hopes his passion for leadership will rub off on other Soldiers.

"Everything you do is observed. Everything is important. If you take every task, no matter how small, and properly plan it, resource it and execute it then you are going to be successful in life," Mallard said. "Care every day. Do what you do because it's the right thing to do."

Mallard said being a positive role model and portraying the Army in a positive way is why he wakes up in the morning.

"When we are done with the Army we will look back and see how many people we positively effected. For me, that is a measure of success in life. The awards are nice, but we don't do what we do for the awards," Mallard said.

Mallard and his family are planning to attend the official Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award ceremony in Washington, D.C. this spring.