CECOM CSM changes hands; Gutierrez retires

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. -- The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command introduced its new command sergeant major, as Command Sgt. Maj. Kristie Brady assumed the role from Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Gutierrez during a change of responsibility ceremony Thursday, June 25.

The ceremony was hosted by CECOM commander and APG senior commander Maj. Gen. Mitchell Kilgo at the Myer Auditorium. It was hosted virtually via Microsoft Teams.

Gutierrez started as CECOM and the installation’s senior enlisted adviser in August 2018.

Brady comes to CECOM from Joint Communications Support Element at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. She is the first female senior enlisted adviser in CECOM’s history.

Born and raised in South Dakota, Brady entered the Army as an information systems operator-analyst. She thanked her family and those she has served with over the course of her 28-year career, who have shaped, prepared, inspired and enabled her to accept the responsibilities of “the best command in the world.”

She will advise the commanding general on the Army’s command, control, communications, computer, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) materiel integration, and is responsible for enabling the Army’s warfighting readiness by providing sustainable global C5ISR support.

She said she will keep the command accountable to the Army, the Department of Defense and the American people and continue to foster a culture of trust between CECOM’s leadership, customers, workforce and partners at APG in the community.

“APG has remained a key component of the world's most lethal, adaptive and competent land force in history,” she said. “CECOM is the center of excellence and we'll continue to strive to be better tomorrow in all that we do. We are and will remain at the center and the home of innovation.”

Gutierrez Retires

A retirement ceremony for Gutierrez was held shortly after the change of responsibility ceremony, putting an end to a 30-year Army career.

The ceremony was hosted by CECOM commander and APG senior commander Maj. Gen. Mitchell Kilgo at the Myer Auditorium. It was hosted virtually via Microsoft Teams.

“Frank, you've earned a place of respect that will always remain as your legacy,” Kilgo said. “A grateful nation thanks you for a job well done.”

Gutierrez began his Army career with the 82nd Airborne Division, where he served as team and section chief with the 82nd Assault Command Post Platoon, the commanding general’s radio telephone operator, and was selected for jumpmaster instructor training at the Fort Bragg Advanced Airborne School.

He then served in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and held numerous positions, including communications sergeant, plans and operations NCO/NCOIC, and operations sergeant major. He was directly involved in project/product development for every Special Forces Group under USASOC and deployed multiple times to Afghanistan and Iraq with Special Operations Forces elements.

Gutierrez was later assigned to TRADOC at Fort Gordon, as Battle Command Systems Directorate SGM, serving as senior instructor/writer and supervised Advanced Individual Training for more than 15,000 AIT Soldiers.

Gutierrez also served as the 114th Signal Battalion CSM as both the Battalion and Garrison CSM for day-to-day operations at the Ravenrock Mountain Complex (Site R). He was selected and reassigned back to Special Operations as the CSM of 112th Signal Battalion and Senior Signal Sergeant Major for USASOC. He went to Southwest Asia and completed a two-year, dual-hatted tour as the 160th Signal Brigade and Task Force Signal-Afghanistan CSM.

He then served as the CSM for 5th Signal Command in Wiesbaden, Germany, and subsequently served as CSM for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at APG, prior to his stint at CECOM.

With his wife, Marla, and their son, Frank, in the audience, he thanked them, along with other family members and colleagues over the course of his career for their support.

“Very few, regardless of rank or position, can truly understand the embodiment of character and commitment of a Soldier who chooses the bout of an NCO,” he said. “And although I'm not the only Soldier to have become a CSM, I feel that I am the only one fortunate enough to have crossed paths with so many of you, which, strangely enough, now as I look back on it, feels like a blink of an eye.”

Gutierrez said he maintains a philosophy that everyone has a rucksack filled with nuggets of wisdom, insight and experience to pass on to others.

“I’m proud to say that my ruck is empty,” he said.

Kilgo said he arrived at CECOM armed with knowledge of Gutierrez’s career — their paths had never crossed but they had served in some of the same units — and good reputation. An opinion he took to heart was one of a longtime friend of his, the retired Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, who worked with Gutierrez while serving as the commanding general at RDECOM. When Wins lost Gutierrez to CECOM, well before Kilgo knew he was coming to APG, he spoke highly of the CSM he was losing.

“That made me feel good about coming here and he’s delivered on everything I heard about him before getting here,” Kilgo said.

Kilgo said he will remember Gutierrez for his steady counsel, candid feedback, strategic insight and friendship. But above all, Kilgo described Gutierrez as a selfless servant who would focus outward on people, fellow servants and the people who protect the nation, rather than himself.

“We don't make soldiers like that everyday,” Kilgo said. “They come around once in a lifetime, and you get an opportunity to serve with them once or twice in a lifetime. I'm so grateful to have a chance to serve with Frank in his last year.”

Outside of CECOM, Kilgo credited Gutierrez for reviving the Aberdeen-Edgewood Area chapter of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club and for being a strong supporter of the area’s Gold Star spouses and families.

“His heart was in this organization and this installation and today that's why we're sad to see him go,” Kilgo said.

Gutierrez earned 68 awards and medals over the course of his career. During the ceremony, he and his family received additional awards: Gutierrez got a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Order of Mercury, a resolution from his home state of Texas for his dedication, professionalism and commitment to excellence, a presidential certificate of appreciation, a certificate of retirement and a token of appreciation from Kilgo. Marla Gutierrez received a certificate of appreciation and a token of appreciation from the CECOM Senior Spouses group, while the younger Frank Gutierrez received an Army Brat Award.