Buildings and streets across Fort Novosel are often named with purpose, but how often do we stop and consider the story behind them? The Warrant Officer Career College and Judge Advocate General Corps came together on Nov. 6, 2023, to honor the 20th anniversary of the Blackhawk crash that took the life of six service members including Chief Warrant Officer Five Sharon Swartworth – the namesake of Swartworth Hall here on Fort Novosel.
During the ceremony in honor of Swartworth, Col. Kevin E. McHugh, U.S. Army Warrant Officer Career College, spoke of her legacy as a mentor, mother, innovator, friend, and trailblazer in Army Aviation. He said that those who knew her best referred to her as the five-foot two giant because of her larger-than-life personality.
US Army Judge Advocate General, Lt. Gen. Stuart W. Risch, spoke about CW5 Swartworth’s tremendous personal and professional influence.
“Two decades ago, our Army, JAG corps, Aviation Branch and Warrant Officer Community suffered an irreplaceable loss when a Blackhawk carrying 6 soldiers, including Swartworth, was shot down in Tikrit, Iraq,” Risch said. “I’m happy to say I had the pleasure of knowing Sharon, our Chief Warrant Officer of the Corps (CWOC). I don’t know if I have ever met a person who was as passionate about everything she did as Sharon was.”
Her passion for people was incredibly notable, but her military accomplishments were no small feat either. Risch said that you couldn’t help but want to be better in her presence.
“She was the epitome of a trailblazer in every sense, yet humble through it all. Sharon was the first woman in the active-duty Army to achieve Chief Warrant Officer Five, the first woman to serve as CWOC for the JAG Corps, the most decorated Warrant Officer in the history of the regiment and tragically the first female who died in Iraq to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery." Risch said.
Chief Warrant Officer Five Tammy Richmond said that Swartworth personally asked her to apply to become a warrant officer early in her career. Today, Richmond serves as the CWOC just as Swartworth was at the time of the crash.
Following the formal ceremony, Chief Warrant Officer Five (Retired) Charlie Poulton added a Yarborough Knife given to him by Swartworth herself to the display case inside Swartworth Hall at the Warrant Officer Career College.
“Today everyone gets a Yarborough knife at retirement but back then, it was just not common. Sharon fought tooth and nail to make sure that I was given this knife, #0211, upon retirement. It was a literal act of God to get the signatures, but she made sure that it happened,” Poulton said. “This does no good staying with me. It belongs here, it belongs home. This place is home to the Warrant Officer program and if you have ever been here, you just know, it’s home.”
It has been twenty years since the Blackhawk crash that took the life of this U.S. Army Trailblazer, but you can still feel her remarkable presence here on Fort Novosel. Take a stroll down the Warrant Officer Career College hallway and take in the memorial items of the small but mighty warrior, Chief Warrant Officer five, Sharon Swartworth.
To read more about Swartworth check out the article Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Sharon T. Swartworth| Military Times
For more photos, head to our FLICKR link at Swartworth 20th anniversary | Flickr
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