Col. Jamie Houston maintains a list of 15 jobs he might take on after retiring from the Army at year's end. But first, he'll have to relinquish command of DENTAC and then go to and come back from Honduras, where he'll lead a team of Army dentists on a mission.
"It took me 20 years to get to Fort Jackson" by way of Hawaii, Korea and Louisiana, Houston said earlier this week. It won't take him nearly as long to leave, but still, he's in no particular hurry.
At 9 a.m. Friday, Houston will relinquish command of Dental Activity to Col. Dan Fong, who will be coming from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
It may be tough to spot him -- he'll be in uniform and not the sweaty tennis togs many people are used to seeing him in. Houston just won fourth place in the National Senior Games, the only active-duty Soldier of 10,000 athletes. And he helped found Fort Jackson's tennis club, whose members play twice a month before heading out for burgers.
"He's got such an enthusiasm for life," says his administrative assistant, Laura Freeman, who has worked for DENTAC for 20 years and seen an assortment of personalities occupy the commander's office. "He's been a lot of fun."
Houston, she said, loves to talk sports and finance -- he has been responsible for boosting a number of Soldiers' retirement savings as the result of hallway advice -- and he seldom acts like someone of retirement age.
"As far as he's concerned, I'll bet he thinks he's 30," Freeman said with a laugh. That's about the age Houston was when he went active-duty Army in 1984.
Houston came to the Army by means of a circuitous route. He had hoped to play professional ball -- had even received an offer -- but his dad persuaded him to stay in school. The chance never came again, though Houston continued to play baseball and basketball in college, switching to tennis in his senior year.
At 5-foot-10 and skinny as a rail, Houston knew he might be "too tiny" -- his mother's words -- to play pro sports for long, anyway. And since he had been an aching and asthmatic 11-year-old in the care of a compassionate dentist, he had wanted to attend dental school. So he did so and joined the Army afterward.
Hardly the shy and retiring type, Houston admits he has gotten himself into trouble a few times during his career as a Soldier. He jokes that some of the friends coming for the change of command helped him escape being court-martialed.
It took him longer than it should have to make lieutenant colonel, too, he said. But in 2001, he did. And then he managed 14 clinics in Iraq and Kuwait, which "changed my career."
Houston came to DENTAC at Fort Jackson in July 2011. He said he had accomplished nothing since -- his staff was responsible for DENTAC's winning superior ratings on six of 10 exemplars the Army examines, so "the guy that's following me is going to be in good shape."
Maybe "the guy" also will work with the downtown homeless shelter and the elementary schoolchildren on post, and help organize next year's "Tooth Fairy 5K" in February, too.
Among Houston's options now are following his wife, Emine, around the world -- she's a traveling mathematics professor with the University of Maryland.
He could join Troops to Teachers, become a missionary dentist or work for a recycling concern.
Or he could become an investment counselor, something he also has done in the Army.
Houston began counseling Soldiers on finance at the start of the Iraq war, when his commander at Fort Hood, Texas, realized that a number of Army wives didn't know how to make last the money they received when their husbands were killed. He asked Houston to teach them.
In his classes, Houston often uses finances to preach good health: Invest the money you spend on alcohol and cigarettes, he tells Soldiers, and you'll be healthier and wealthier.
"Col. Houston has volunteered his services with the Financial Readiness Program since he arrived on Fort Jackson," said Madelyn Mercado of Army Community Service. "He is passionate about teaching Soldiers how to invest funds and has taught several Investing 101 classes for us.
"(He) recognizes the importance of having good money-management skills and is committed to ensuring Soldiers and Families obtain the necessary tools."
During lunchtime in his office, Houston makes financial calculations on a flip chart, to keep in practice.
But ask him what he's most passionate about, and the answer has to be sports - tennis in particular. As long as he can hold a racquet, Houston intends to play and to recruit others.
Last week, Houston came in fourth place during the National Senior Games in Minneapolis. Playing in the 60-to-64 age group, he eventually lost to a retired Air Force master sergeant, the second time in four years that Houston had played in the semifinals before losing to the eventual winner.
Maybe next year, he said, he'll switch to sprinting. Sprinting inspires him.
In 2013, he was a Personal Best ambassador for the games.
Houston has competed at the National Senior Games since he was at Fort Hood in 2005, but his eyes light up when he describes this year's games. This year, athletes stayed in co-ed dorms, where they watched the U.S. women's soccer team win the world championship.
"It was magical," he said with a grin -- "just magical."
Social Sharing