FORT CARSON, Colo. — When Kim Henry joined the Army after graduating high school, she had the goal to become sergeant major of the Army.
The first challenge she faced on entering the military, as many young people do, was being on her own for the first time.
“My first few challenges were just being away from home, being a young kid,” Henry said. “But even though I was a female in the Army, I didn’t feel like anything could stop me.”
Henry was a hard worker and received compliments from her fellow Soldiers on how she wouldn’t let physical challenges stop her.
“I think working hard and showing your abilities stand out far more than what you say,” Henry said. “Your actions speak louder than words.”
During her military career, she was stationed in Germany and was deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm. Her other duty stations included Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Fort Lewis (currently known as Joint Base Lewis McChord), Washington, Korea; Naval Station Guantanamo Bay; and Fort Carson, where she deployed to Bosnia.
All of these assignments helped mold her into a leader who understood people no matter who they were and was willing to help them advance.
“I think a part of good leadership is meeting people where they are and then helping them advance to wherever they want to go,” Henry said. “Another part of leadership is you have to be sympathetic and empathetic but set the standard.”
She retired as master sergeant after a successful 23-year military career. Even though she didn’t make sergeant major of the Army, she uses that drive she had for sergeant major of the Army to continue to grow and advance in her civilian career.
“I liked the Army because of its structure, teaching me things that I obviously wasn’t taught as a kid,” Henry said. “Even though I didn’t make sergeant major of the Army, someday there will be a female sergeant major of the Army.”
At the time of her retirement in 2005, Henry was working at the Army Center for Substance Abuse in the Washington area where she worked with mostly civilian personnel. She found working with the civilians made her transition easier.
Once transitioned out of the Army, Henry started off as a contractor in the same organization while she waited for a government position to open at Fort Carson.
In 2007, she got a job offer that would bring her back to Fort Carson. She got a position in the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) and continued to excel in her civilian career.
Now, Henry is the chief of the Military Personnel Division (MPD) with the Directorate of Human Resources (DHR) and oversees 36 Department of the Army civilians, 52 contractors and three Soldiers.
Mike Webb, the director of DHR, said he appointed Henry as the MPD chief because he needed someone who could interact with many different types of people and provide them the services they needed.
“I needed an individual that had the ability to interact with Soldiers, retirees, veterans and Family members,” said Webb. “Kim had that experience from working at ASAP because of the diversity of people that came there.”
Carolyn Hill, retirement services officer said that out of her previous bosses, Henry is the most influential she has ever had.
“I have had other female supervisors before, and Henry has been a strong mentor in my career,” Hill said. “When I look at her, I don’t see her as male or female, I look at her as a leader.”
Henry received her doctorate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with an emphasis in organizational leadership while still working a full-time job.
Many people look up to Henry and are impressed on how she is always improving herself.
“We all want to emulate Kim,” Webb said. “Kim is an individual that never stops learning, never stops developing herself.”
Social Sharing