ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Leadership, family and friends celebrated the careers of a Soldier and three civilians during the quarterly installation retirement ceremony Jan. 25, 2024.
The honorees were Col. Scott Mower, an environmental science and engineering officer with the Defense Centers for Public Health-Aberdeen; Deborah S. Pole, a human resources assistant with the Civilian Human Resources Agency; and Jerry E. Szymczyk and Dr. Andre’ Godsey Sr., both logistics management specialists with the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command’s Integrated Logistics Support Center.
The host was the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense Col. Mariano Mesngon, Jr., and Master Sgt. Joshua Strauss, senior enlisted leader MRICD, assisted him.
Mesngon praised the retirees for their dedication to the nation.
“Your legacy will be remembered as a source of inspiration for those who follow in your footsteps,” he said.
Mesngon asked the retirees to share their stories of service with the next generation.
“As we bid farewell to these successful teammates, we express our deepest gratitude for their sacrifices comradery, and unwavering sense of duty that has characterized their careers,” he said.
Col. Scott Mower
Mower will officially retire with 30 years of military service on April 1, 2024.
During the ceremony, Mower received the Legion of Merit award, Department of Army certificates of appreciation and retirement, the U.S. flag, a retirement pin, an Army 30-year medallion, and a three-star note. His wife, Tara Mower, received the DA Certificate of Retirement.
A native of Maryland, Mower holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College, a Master of Science in public health from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Mower served as the Force Health Protection officer for Regional Health Command-Europe, Sembach, Germany, from 2020 to 2023. In this position, he chaired the COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign Work Group for U.S. Army Europe and worked in close coordination with the Department of Defense Education Activity-Europe leadership to keep the schools safely open to the maximum extent possible. While serving as Munson Army Health Center commander at the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, he quickly implemented a drive-thru pharmacy and virtual medicine clinics to serve the beneficiary population of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mower had the honor of commanding the first Preventative Medicine Detachment that crossed from Kuwait into Iraq. He has served with distinction for another combat tour in Iraq during the Surge and one tour in Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, he was the Force Health Protection Consultant for all U.S. Forces and NATO allies.
Describing his retirement as “bittersweet,” Mower expressed he is excited about embarking on his next adventure but will also miss the comradery of serving in the military. He plans to retire to the Huntsville, Alabama, area with his wife Tara.
“We plan to go live in small-town America and be integrated into a community,” he said. “We are looking for more stability and will have more routine visits by family.”
Jerry S. Szymczyk
Szymczyk officially retired on Jan. 31, 2024, with more than 25 years of civilian service.
During the ceremony, he received the Civilian Service Achievement Medal, Department of the Army certificates of appreciation and retirement, and the retirement pin. His wife, Sheila Szymczyk, received the DA Certificate of Appreciation.
In 1979, Szymczyk started his 21-year military career as armored crewman, later serving as an aerial electronic warfare maintainer. Later, he took on duties as the first drill sergeant in his career management field. He finished his remaining five years of service establishing the New Equipment Training, Electronic Warfare Branch as the non-commissioned officer in charge for the Logistics Readiness Center (LRC), CECOM, in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, achieving his Master Instructor Badge.
Szymczyk continued his service to LRC as a contractor, managing New Equipment Training Teams for Guardrail and Trojan Project Managers. He continued his subsequent 15 years of service to CECOM ILSC as a Department of the Army Civilian working via Matrix to Product Manager Prophet at Terrestrial Spectrum Warfare.
From 2008-2011, Szymczyk was a lead fielder on a small team responsible for the coordinating, fielding and training of 121 Prophet Spiral Systems to 30 brigade combat teams. More than 750 Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Maintainer Soldiers were trained as part of the effort. From 2010-2020, Jerry was solely responsible for managing Displaced Equipment Training, which was the U.S. Army Forces Command-directed lateral transfer of COMPO 1 (Active Duty) Spiral Systems to COMPO 2 (Army National Guard) units. Szymczyk created and executed more than 28 in-person New Material In-Briefs and followed up with conducting more than 100 telephonic In-Process Reviews as part of the detailed direct-to-unit coordination, resulting in training more than 400 Army National Guard Soldiers.
In 2011, Szymczyk assisted in the fielding and training of the new Product Manager Prophet Quick Reaction Capability, predecessor to the current Program of Record system. Szymczyk coordinated four fielding events that trained 54 Soldiers on 12 systems. He received the Civilian Service Achievement Medal in 2020 for his exceptional achievement enabling Program Manager Electronic Warfare and Cyber (PM EW&C) to field cutting-edge capabilities to the warfighter. Szymczyk transitioned to the new product development team in 2020 for the Product Manager Tactical Dismounted Electronic Warfare Manpack system, the Tactical Dismounted Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence System. Szymczyk was the lead fielding coordinator for the TDEWS System from 2020-2023.
He successfully fielded 20 COMPO 1 and COMPO 2 BCTs, transferring 60 systems and training more than 230 Soldiers. He maintained 100% accountability as he transferred more than $240 million of state-of-the-art equipment to the warfighter over more than 25 years of service to CECOM and LRC/ILSC.
Szymczyk said he plans to travel extensively during his retirement.
“I am ready to start the RV life,” he said.
Dr. Andre’ E. Godsey Sr.
Godsey officially retired on Jan. 31, 2024, with 20 years of civilian service.
During the ceremony, he was presented with the Civilian Service Achievement Medal, DA certificates of retirement and appreciation, and the retirement pin. His wife Lakita Godsey received a DA Certificate of Appreciation.
Godsey attended Sojourner-Douglas College receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in administrative management in 1991. At Sojourner-Douglass College he was the valedictorian of his class.
He went on to complete several master’s degrees and holds a doctorate in human services from Capella University.
From 1980 to 1985, Godsey enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as an administrative specialist. His assignments included Hahn Air Base, Germany; Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona; and Dover AFB, Delaware.
Godsey’s civilian career highlights include serving as a logistics management specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard. He ensured the supply chain’s product lines strictly complied with U.S. Coast Guard regulations regarding the returning assets to the fleet and the Surface Force Logistics Center warehouse.
From July 1999 to December 2000, Godsey served at the Drug Enforcement Administration and completed Basic Intelligence Research Specialist training at Quantico, Virginia. In this role, he served on the Financial Intelligence Unit, completing money laundering investigations nationally and internationally.
Additionally, he was part of the team that provided complete integrated logistics support for all Product Director Aerostats Program of Record systems, significantly contributing to the mission-capable readiness posture of the warfighters.
Godsey is looking forward to continuing his career as a contemporary classical music composer, having had his music performed at music festivals, and most recently, Carnegie Hall, in November 2023. He retired from federal service on Jan. 31, 2024.
“It is a relief,” Godsey said about retiring. “I will have time to move on to what I always wanted to do, which is compose music.”
Deborah S. Pole
Pole officially retired on Dec. 31, 2023, with 36 years of civilian service.
Pole received DA certificates of retirement and appreciation and a retiree pin. Her husband, Robert Pole, received a DA Certificate of Appreciation.
A native of Kingston, New York, she attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, part of the Rochester Institute of Technology, and graduated in 1988, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree.
On Dec. 8, 1989, she began her federal career at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Support Activity. Some positions held during her career at APG include computer clerk/assistant, personnel clerk, mail clerk, and budget clerk. Pole has received numerous performance awards, which coincided with all the years of her exceptional performance ratings. Some of her noteworthy work accomplishments include assisting the Test and Evaluation Command during summer hiring, processing numerous Thrift Savings Plan election forms in the summer of 1987 when Thrift Savings Plan program began, and her temporary promotion of lead mail and file clerk within the Administrative Services Division.
During retirement, Pole plans to move to Florida, travel on an Alaskan cruise with her husband, and practice her hobbies including photography and scrapbooking.
“I am ready for the next chapter of my life,” she said.
For more photos, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/usagapg/.
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