ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- A crisp, fall morning greeted a new season of leadership as First Army welcomed a new command sergeant major during a change of responsibility ceremony on Memorial Field, Oct. 21.
Incoming command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Richard K. Johnson, comes to First Army from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served as sergeant major, Combined Arms Center-Training.
Outgoing command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Sam K. Young, served as First Army's senior enlisted leader since October 2013. He will shortly retire from the Army after more than 30 years of service.
Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty, First Army commanding general, recognized Young for his service to First Army and the nation.
"Thank you for being here today in bidding farewell to a great warrior and leader," Twitty told ceremony attendees. "Command Sgt. Maj. Young has been a role model and a mentor to our Soldiers. He has improved our observer coach/trainers while observing them in action.
"Command Sgt. Maj. Young has been the backbone of First Army. I want to thank you and Rhonda and wish you well on a well-deserved retirement."
Twitty applauded Young for improving training at the First Army Academy and assisting in getting the academy's OC/T course certified and accredited. The two-week course for observer coach/trainers is located at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Mississippi. First Army OC/Ts advise, assist, coach, mentor, teach and train reserve component Soldiers during training and exercises.
During his tenure with First Army, Young also created the Rock Island Arsenal Sergeants Major Association. For his decades of leadership and service, Young was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal during a ceremony prior to the change of responsibility.
Young reflected on his time at First Army, as well as his 30-plus years in the Army, and acknowledged the importance of the non-commission officer corps, while having a little fun at Army officers' expense.
"I'm proud to say that today's ceremony is a completely NCO-led event, from the band to the color guard, to the salute battery. So if everything goes off without a hitch, you know who gets the credit. If anything goes wrong…well, some officer must have sneaked in somewhere and screwed things up."
"The best part of being on the First Army team for the past three years was spending time with Soldiers," Young said.
"Not just here at the Arsenal at the headquarters, but in First Army formations all across the nation," he said. "It has truly been a unique experience to be part of the team that enables the readiness and training of two of our nation's most valuable assets: the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve."
Young praised residents of the Quad Cities area for their support of military personnel.
"I've served at 10 major Army installations, but I have never been around more patriotic people -- and people who support the troops -- than right here in the Quad Cities. Rhonda and my family were overwhelmed by the support the Quad Cities have provided."
Young thanked his wife, Rhonda, and his daughter, Chelsea, for supporting his career through multiple deployments, schools and training missions. He said he looked forward to his retirement with his family in Texas.
In welcoming Johnson, Twitty said Johnson is the right senior enlisted leader at the right time for First Army.
"Welcome to the First Army team," he said. "You have served at every key leadership position, including at battalion and brigade level. You have a reputation of being a 'Soldiers' Soldier.'"
Johnson said he looked forward in accomplishing First Army's important mission.
"Thank you, Lt. Gen. Twitty, for allowing me to serve on the First Army team," he said. "I am committed to the First Army mission, Soldiers and Families. This is a great honor and I acknowledge a great responsibility. I accept that responsibility."
First Army mobilizes, trains, deploys, and demobilizes Reserve Component forces in accordance with combatant commanders, Department of the Army, and U.S. Forces Command directives. First Army provides training to joint, interagency, combined, and Active Army forces as directed, and provides training support to Reserve Component forces for contingency and deployment expeditionary force requirements.
Social Sharing