FORT BELVOIR, Va. (APRIL 26) -- Command Sgt. Maj. Gabriel Berhane retired last week after 29 years of service in the U.S. Army and after many achievements.
In his nearly three decades of military service, Berhane has received numerous awards and decorations that include the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Armed Forces Service Medal, to name a few.
Despite all of his accolades and personal achievements, Berhane wishes to be remembered by those he served with for one thing.
"I just hope I was able to make a difference," said Berhane. "I hope the one thing people say about me is that I tried to make a difference."
Making a difference is exactly what Berhane did. He felt it was important to treat everyone with whom he served, with respect and dignity and that his service was for a cause greater then his own personal goals.
"In life it's all about getting ahead and becoming a better person," Berhane said. "You want to help everybody get ahead. A lot of times people don't see themselves, so you have to help them see themselves."
Entering the Army in March 1983, Berhane graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, Ky. as a Cavalry Scout (Military Occupational Specialty, 19D). It was the first step in a long, successful career that was inspired by a single moment.
Growing up in Ethiopia because his stepfather, Haman Johnson Jr. was stationed at Kagnew Station in Asmara, Eritrea, Berhane was surrounded by heavy Italian and Ethiopian influences. He remembers seeing the American flag for the first time when he was about 10 years old.
"I used to see the Ethiopian flag and the Italian flag, but I never saw the American flag. One day, when I was in the capital, I was by one of the bases and I saw the American flag. That was the first time I saw it and I realized that day that I wanted to be a part of that team," said Berhane. "I always felt like the U.S. stood for the best, for freedom. So, seeing the flag that day just stayed with me."
Berhane initially wanted to join the Army as an infantry Soldier. He said a Family friend was a career counselor in the Army stationed in Ethiopia, and Berhane met with him after committing to the delayed-entry program.
Informing the Family friend he wanted to go infantry did not get the reaction Berhane expected.
"He was like 'No, your mom is going to kill me,'" Berhane said of the friend's reaction. "He passed me over to another guy, and that guy told me there were no infantry slots available. I had done my research. There were too many infantry divisions for a spot to not be available."
Berhane was then asked if he had heard of 19D Cavalry Scout. He decided on that, because it was also a Combat Arms MOS. His Family friend still did not approve of Berhane's decision and pleaded with him to listen to his parents.
"He said, 'Your parents want you to get into a technical field like communications or intelligence and you want combat arms?'" Berhane said. "I told him, 'Yea, that's what I want to do.' So, off to Fort Knox I went."
After graduating training, Berhane was promoted through the ranks to staff sergeant in four years while serving in Budingen, Germany and Fort Stewart, Ga.
He spent four years at Fort Stewart, from 1985-89 serving as track commander and section sergeant in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor, 24th Infantry Division. He moved to his next assignment as a drill sergeant and senior drill sergeant with "E" and "B" companies, 4th Bn, 26th Inf., 2nd Training Brigade, Fort Dix, N.J. While in that assignment Berhane learned his former unit at Fort Stewart was deploying to the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Missing out on the deployment brought Berhane feelings of resentment, as he wanted to be with his "team."
"You feel left out," said Berhane. "You feel like, 'Those are my guys. That's my unit and my friends.' Watching news reports and seeing the bumper number on (the military) vehicles and knowing that's your unit and your company and you're not there, it's hard. I wanted to be with my team."
By 2001, Berhane graduated from the United States Army's Sergeants Major Academy. He said entering the sergeant's major academy is a common goal once an enlisted servicemember reaches the rank of master sergeant, but that was never his plan when he decided to enlist.
"It was an honor, but I didn't do anything special to get to that point. I just did my job and was fortunate to get selected," Berhane said. "I had solid noncommissioned officers who took me under their wing, coached, mentored and developed me as a young Soldier. They established my base in the Army and, from there, I just took off. At each level and every organization, I was surrounded by great people that motivated me and got me on the right path."
After graduating from the academy, Berhane was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3d Inf. Div. (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Ga. His commanding officer was then Lt. Col., now Brig. Gen., Terry Ferrell, who is currently serving as the commanding general of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.
Ferrell's first encounter with Command Sgt. Maj. Berhane was all he needed to know about the kind of Soldier Berhane is.
"He came into the squadron headquarters at 1800 hours," Ferrell said of his first meeting with Berhane. "I did not know he was coming. Out front was the staff duty noncommissioned officer. I overheard an ongoing conversation and what it was, was Command Sgt. Maj. Berhane correcting the SDNCO for not calling the building at ease, not showing proper respect and maintaining proper appearance."
The incident showed Ferrell that he had the type of CSM that he wanted, which was someone who believed in standards and discipline, to handle the diverse group that made up their unit at that time.
"We had air troops, ground troops, numerous support MOSs," said Ferrell. "We needed someone to be an example and that's what I got with Command Sgt. Maj. Berhane."
Not only did Ferrell have a senior enlisted adviser who shared his views on standards, he also had a person who could motivate and get others to follow his example.
"If he wanted something done, or thought it had to be done, he wasn't directive in nature. It was just, this is what we do as professionals," Ferrell said. "People wanted to be a part of that. He knew how to engage and love on Soldiers, and tell them when they were doing wrong, but not beat them down."
Berhane agreed, saying most Soldiers know when they've made a mistake, so he never felt a need to react harshly when a mistake was made. Identifying the mistake and why it was made was most important, he added.
"You have to be able to make honest mistakes because that's how we learn," Berhane said. "The only difference between a senior enlisted Soldier and a lower enlisted Soldier is, I've been in the Army and on this Earth a little longer than they have. I was once that lower enlisted Soldier and you can't ever forget where you came from. It's not about rank; they are a human being first."
Ferrell, Berhane and more than 1200 Soldiers deployed to Iraq in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Every one of them came home to their Families when the deployment was over.
"Taking Soldiers to combat is one of the most awesome responsibilities," said Berhane. "We could've lost Soldiers while we were there. We were involved in tank-on-tank battles. We lost Bradleys (Bradley Fighting Vehicles), but we didn't lose a single Soldier -- 1,241 went in and 1,241 came out."
Ferrell and Berhane deployed together to Iraq again, in May 2007. Ferrell said another one of Berhane's qualities he always admired was his belief in speaking truth to power.
"That was his favorite motto," Ferrell said. "He firmly believed in it, executed it and worked every day to get people at every echelon, from private to general, to do the same."
The saying "bad news never gets better over time" is why Berhane said he was never afraid of speaking freely to his commanders.
"You have to be brutally honest sometimes," Berhane said. "It's not so much to dwell on what went wrong and trying to beat somebody up. It's how you come out of it and move on. OK, we went wrong here. How are we going to fix it?"
Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, Director, Force Development, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, Headquarters, Department of the Army, was the commanding general of the 3rd Inf. Div. during the time Berhane was at Fort Stewart. He said Berhane's reputation for giving straightforward assessments made him a valuable resource during Cucolo's time as commanding general.
"He was a great adviser to senior leaders," Cucolo said. "So, when I needed to hear something at brigade level and wanted to know I was getting the straight scoop I would ask him."
Coming to Fort Belvoir in 2009, Berhane was admittedly out of his comfort zone. But, as he has throughout his entire career, he took on the new challenge and adjusted to his new surroundings.
"I resisted coming here because I wanted to stay at Fort Stewart with Soldiers," said Berhane. "I tried to become the garrison command sergeant major there, but I'm glad I came here. This is one of the best jobs I've ever had."
One of the adjustments he had to make was getting used to the way things are done at Belvoir, and how changes came over a period of time.
"Normally, a troop organization is fairly disciplined where, if you want something done, it happens. Here, it takes time and doesn't happen because I said so," said Berhane. "I just tried to fit in to the organization, learn and be a productive member. As I look back on it, it's been a wonderful experience. I will cherish it as much as I did my time with troops."
Taking the position of command sergeant major of the garrison during implementation of Base Realignment and Closure 2005, Berhane said he gets a warm feeling inside when he thinks of all the changes that were made.
However, he doesn't take any credit for the improvements.
"A lot of that is a result of Col. (Mark) Moffatt's hard work and effort," Berhane said. "He did a lot of heavy lifting. Col. (Jerry) Blixt; Col. (John) Strycula; myself and the deputy to the installation commander (Stephen Brooks), we are all ultimately responsible for what happens on the installation, but Col. Moffatt and his crew, I attribute all the BRAC success to them."
Despite all of his accomplishments, Berhane doesn't hesitate to give credit to the group of people that has been by his side for the majority of his military career; his wife, Connie and their three children. He said he wouldn't have achieved half of what he has without their continued support.
"I'm as successful as I've been because of my Family and their support," said Berhane. "We have no idea what spouses go through. My wife pretty much raised our kids. The critical years, when my kids were in middle school and high school, I was out training or deploying. So, she took care of our Family. I couldn't have accomplished all I have in my career without their support."
Ferrell and Cucolo both mentioned how Berhane has influenced the lives of many Soldiers, both enlisted and officer, and will leave his imprint on the Army long after his retirement.
At the end of his military service, Berhane still views life with the same simple philosophy he started out with three decades ago.
"Be humble and be grateful, because we are all fortunate to be here," said Berhane. "In the grand scheme of things, we have to be grateful for where we are, who we are and what we have."
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