ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Maj. Gen. Jeth Rey, director of Army Futures Command’s Network Cross Functional Team, was promoted to major general during a ceremony on Sept. 1, 2022. This is his 16th promotion and 17th rank that he has held in his near-40-year career in the U.S. Army.
This makes him the most often-promoted Soldier in the Army since World War II.
In high school, Rey was part of the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps at his school. He had every intention of joining the U.S. Navy, but they couldn’t take him right away. Rey then tried the U.S. Marine Corps, which also could not take him immediately. In 1983, he joined the U.S. Army, which could sign him up right away.
“The people around me were big influences,” Rey said. “I had many neighbors and JROTC mentors that I looked up to.”
Rey found the Army to be a great fit and made it his goal to reach the rank of E7 (sergeant first class) as fast as possible. In seven and a half years, he made it on the list.
“I knew as I went on that journey that I wanted to be a warrant officer,” Rey said. “I learned more about how technical [warrant officers] were and I wanted to be more technical in my field. That was important, to get all the skills necessary to be assessed and afforded the opportunity to attend warrant officer candidate school.”
Unfortunately, Rey’s military occupation specialty at the time did not have a path to become a warrant officer. He completed certification courses and worked on his degree at night. Once he graduated and became a warrant officer, he soon encountered mentors who drove him to seek the next level of service. In 1996, he graduated from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned into the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
“I wanted to be better in my field,” Rey said. “I wanted to give back to enlisted Soldiers. I encouraged others to go through the process, too.”
Challenges and highlights
Rey believes the best part of being in the Army is getting to meet new people from all walks of life.
“I get to travel all around the world and see how others live,” he said. “I get to see what their vision for the future looks like. You can’t get that opportunity anywhere else.”
As the N-CFT director, focusing on integrating and modernizing the Army’s network, Rey works with “the best, most intelligent folks in the world.”
“I get to help set the standard for the next generation of the Army,” he said. “You couldn’t ask for a better job.”
Despite that, Rey faces many challenges in his day-to-day work – coordinating across stakeholders to drive requirements, experimentation and technology transitions for the Army’s future network. He said he has been impressed with the “team of teams” executing network modernization across the Aberdeen Proving Ground community.
Rey wants people to know that “the Army is a great institution.”
“It’s the only one I can think of where you can come in with no skills and gain relationships and knowledge to take you into a second career,” he said. “There are lots and lots of opportunities for any young individual that wants to be part of our Army family. I would encourage them to seek out a service member as a mentor and simply have a conversation with them.”
Mentorship
Rey collected many different mentors over the years, many of whom helped encourage and keep him on track. He still reaches out to his past mentors when he faces difficult challenges.
“If you find yourself in a bind, [a mentor] can help with problems,” he said. “In all of my senior-level jobs, I’ve had a sergeant major next to me. As a commander, having them there has been amazing mentorship. NCOs are the backbone of our Army. They’ll keep you in check.”
Mentors give guidance on career paths, Rey said, and helped him learn the benefit of giving back to enlisted Soldiers.
“I may be biased, but those who start out as enlisted and then later become officers often make the best officers,” Rey said. “Having a positive attitude is important. Treat people with dignity. For me, being enlisted taught those skills.”
Rey said his advice to any young person is to dream big while never losing sight of your integrity.
“You can achieve anything you put your mind to,” he said. “Make sure you have the character and build relationships along the way. They need to stay intact.”
Social Sharing