Dan Hain hoards words, using them only when he deems it necessary.
To Hain, words aren't something to be thrown about willy-nilly, to accompany an expansive laugh or even a wry smile. (He doesn't smile much either.)
Which is why when Hain looks as if he is about to break his habitual silence, everybody around him leans forward in expectation.
"One time," recalled Fort Jackson Deputy Commander Col. Mark Shade, who knew Hain at a posting the two shared in Hawaii, "we were in a meeting and everyone was talking about whatever the subject was, and (Hain) just kind of sat back and said, 'Well, that's stupid.'
"Then the conversation was, 'Who made that plan?'" Shade said.
"It might have been the CG back then, and (Hain) said, 'Well, then, (itals)he's(unitals) stupid.'
"That's Dan. He says it like it is. He's very intelligent and has a great sense of humor, (but) he's no�-nonsense and doesn't sugar-coat anything."
Post commander Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier called Hain a trusted adviser, largely because Hain doesn't mince words.
"He has what I call simple brilliance … an amazing knack for being able to break the most complex issues down into simple, common-sense terms that work," Cloutier said.
"A good CSM gives candid opinions - not what you want to hear but what you need to hear," he said. "They tell you if you got it wrong, they give you their advice and - behind closed doors - you have frank and candid discussions.
"But once the decision is made - whether it went their way or not - they own it and, when they walk out of the room, it's their guidance and their decision, and they make that vision or that decision come to life.
"That's what Dan Hain does."
Change of responsibility
Hain will end his 33-year commitment to the Army this afternoon, when he retires as Fort Jackson's command sergeant major and hands over responsibility to Command Sgt. Maj. Lamont Christian, recently head of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy.
During his tenure at Fort Jackson, Hain has worked with two commanding generals, both of whom speak of him with high praise.
Past post commander Maj. Gen. Bradley Becker brought Hain to Fort Jackson in February 2014 on the strength of his reputation in Hawaii.
Becker said that during the almost two years they worked together "as CG and CSM, I could not have asked for a better battle buddy, adviser and confidant."
Becker found Hain to be "one of the funniest, wittiest people I know" -- although the general admitted that some might be fooled by Hain's near-consistent deadpan expression.
Hain's wife, Barbara, said many people (itals)did(unitals) see more to Hain than his expression.
"A lot of people … remember him for something that he did for Soldiers -- not just for him not smiling," she said. Hain has "influenced a lot of people as far as helping them build their careers. He's one of those guys that lead by example."
Cloutier concurred.
"Dan Hain is the epitome of a Soldier's Soldier," he said.
"You can see it in Dan's eyes - the intense passion he has for all Soldiers."
Hain will become emotional at a ceremony or when he hears the National Anthem, Cloutier said.
"It dredges up a whole bunch of emotion from your … past - Soldiers that you've lost -- and you kind of relive that.
"Dan has that passion and … that emotion … right under the surface.
"When a kid graduates and his parents come up and grab him on the parade field and give him a hug, you can see it in his eyes, man."
A varied career
Hain's Army career began in the ranks. It will end -- largely - in a conference room or paneled commander's office.
The big difference between being on the ground with the troops as a non-commissioned officer and being a command sergeant major is that a command sergeant major receives no immediate feedback, Hain said.
"It takes a while to see change," he said. "When you're on the front lines -- you're a squad leader -- you impact people right away, and there's an immediate response." As he moved up through the ranks, Hain said, he had to work through subordinates -- something he said often took a "hell of lot more patience."
Guiding subordinates -- sometimes the people who held the job you once did well -- requires nuance, he said.
"(Saying), 'Go do this … That's pretty simple," Hain said. "Influencing is much more nuanced.
"You have to work at it to get people to do what you want them to do -- because if they don't believe it's what (itals)they(unitals) want to do, they're just not going to do it.
"It's a longer process, but it can be tremendously rewarding because you see the results over time.
"You can look back at a success and know you had a hand in it even though someone else usually gets the credit -- which is the best thing."
At Fort Jackson, Shade said, Hain often was the one who made sure post commanders didn't step too far out of the box when they instituted changes to basic training.
"You want him around you," Shade said, "because he observes everything and frequently questions the things we see as good to go, reminding us when we climb outside the box that we need to keep training here basic.
Building successes
Looking back at his tenure at Fort Jackson, Hain was happy to note significant changes in basic training.
"I think we've focused through the (program of instruction) changes to really get back to the basics," he said. "It (had gotten) a little off track, and we were doing too much preparing Soldiers to go into combat right away.
"We won't know the results of (the changes) for some time, but it's so important that they get out of training what they need to get out of here. When things get hairy sometime in the future for them, when they get called forward to defend this country, when all things fail and go bad, they're going to rely on what their drill sergeants taught them.
"We've made that right again."
Hain's current boss, Cloutier, called him "the epitome of a Soldier's Soldier" and said Hain "deeply cares for all the troops, from the privates in Basic Combat Training to the senior NCOs he has served with."
Now it's time for Hain to put his Family first -- something for which he is "absolutely ready."
"I joined (the Army) for three years with the intent of getting out and going back to school and doing something -- I don't know what -- but that three years has drug into 33 years, so we're ready," Hain said.
Becker called Hain's retirement "a huge loss for the Army," to which Cloutier added:
"He is truly one of the finest Soldiers I have ever met, and he will be missed.
"(But) of all the titles, that I hold most dear to me about Dan Hain - the one that is most important to me - is 'friend.' He's my friend.
"He's not just my command sergeant major, and he's not just another Soldier. Dan Hain is my friend.
"That's the title that means the most to me of all those."
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