Soldier looks back on career, calls JRTC “choice assignment”

By Lt. Col. AMALIO DE LEON Jr. JRTC and Fort Polk G-1August 30, 2021

FORT POLK, La. — As a career Army professional, it is crucial we map our assignments with the tactical planning needed to progress along the appropriate career path. If we are being honest with ourselves, however, there are only so many sacrifices we are willing to make for career progression.

When my Branch Manager called and said, ‘I have an assignment for you at Fort Polk,’ images of Biblical flooding and living far from the daily conveniences I know and love went spinning through my head. Beginning as an infantry officer, I felt privileged to spend the majority of my career assigned overseas to “premier” installations such as Hawaii, Korea, Belgium, Puerto Rico and Honduras. Although I had participated in rotations at NTC (National Training Center) and Joint Readiness Training Center, I felt like I had reached the optimal balance, finding professional success while maintaining a string of comfortable duty locations. It wasn’t until I re-branched to the AG Corps that I felt my good fortune had finally come to an end when I received the call I was to be stationed to JRTC and Fort Polk. Soon after came the sympathetic calls from my colleagues, asking what I’d done to be assigned at one of the least requested locations in the Army. Had I only known then, JRTC and Fort Polk would turn out to be the most rewarding assignment, personally and professionally, of my career.

My entire perception of JRTC and Fort Polk was based on what I’d experienced on previous rotations. I knew that going to a CTC (combat training center) as part of a rotational unit would be a grueling experience, testing my skills and readiness as a leader. The day I brought my Family to JRTC and Fort Polk was, honestly, filled with uncertainty and trepidation. I fully expected our three years to feel like one long rotation. What I discovered was, an assignment should be chosen based on the opportunities it provides, not on the weather. JRTC and Fort Polk has granted my Family and myself the most rewarding, genuine connections. Living in a small, close-knit community has allowed us to truly connect with the people we work and reside with.

The stable schedule gives me ample quality time to watch my daughter grow. As she prepares to graduate, she is competitive for any university she would like to apply for, due to the education she received, despite my original biases, and the educational support she has at home. As an AG Officer, I have the opportunity to see behind the curtain into the framework of career mapping.

As a result, I can attest that JRTC is an installation rich with career prospects from key development to broadening assignments. JRTC and Fort Polk is known for being a place where units come to hone their abilities by testing every warfighting function in realistic, trying conditions.

It isn’t meant to be easy. If it was it wouldn’t set the conditions to prepare you for combat but I guarantee, living here isn’t like living in the box. With just a finite amount of time at JRTC and Fort Polk, key development time can be completed with a wealth of knowledge to make stronger leaders in the future while continuing to check the necessary boxes of career progression. Conversely, this is also a great location to extend dwell time, continue career progression, all while granting your Family stability.

One of the benefits I have experienced at JRTC and Fort Polk that I had truly not anticipated, is the unequivocal respect and acceptance I have been shown from the leadership down. Throughout my 20-year career, I have been challenged to overcome my accent, forcing others to see what I bring to the table and not the color of my skin.

Whether I was on the beaches of Hawaii or walking down the streets of Belgium, I was perceived by many as less than I am because English is not my first language and my accent is predominant. My Family and I felt the most at home in Korea until we moved to JRTC and Fort Polk. From the moment we arrived, people were not only accepting of our Hispanic heritage but for the first time, I felt welcomed as a true equal. I felt like a weight I didn’t even know I had been carrying, had been lifted off of my shoulders.

As a father, I could raise my daughter on an installation where the place you come from doesn’t matter as much as where you are. As a husband, I have the security of knowing my wife is in a community where she is embraced. As an officer, I finally have the complete freedom to perform my duties and mentor future leaders without the confines of having my book judged by its cover. For once, at JRTC and Fort Polk, people just read the book and allowed my performance to speak for itself. I’ve learned happiness has very little to do with location, it’s a mindset. When choosing your next duty assignment, genuinely understand your career path and make an educated choice. Are you looking for sincere connections and a place to enhance your career? It is time to shift your outlook and understand that every assignment counts. I would not have imagined that JRTC and Fort Polk would have been my choice assignment, but with all things in life, hindsight is 20-20.