Three retired Sergeant Majors of the Army visited White Sands Missile Range April 17 where they met with military personnel and civilians at the Professional Development Center followed by lunch at the Frontier Club.
Sgt. Maj. of the Army (Retired) Jack L. Tilley, Sgt. Maj. of the Army (Retired) Kenneth O. Preston, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army (Retired) Daniel A. Dailey spoke to WSMR personnel about their experience in the Army and gave leadership advice.
Tilley told the story of how when he told his wife he had been selected SMA she didn’t make a big deal.
“What my wife did in just a matter of seconds was put everything back into perspective for me,” Tilley said. “I’m no different. No matter what level of leadership you are in you are no different. The only thing that changes is that your lane gets a little bit wider, and you have more responsibility.”
“The Army was good to me. It allowed me to do things that I never would have gotten the chance to do,” Tilley said. “I just want to give back as much as I can to our country and our military.”
Tilley said it is important to talk to people that you work with. He went on to say that 90 percent of being a leader is being accessible.
“Every individual that you work with is motivated by something different. You’ve got to talk to them and figure out what that is. Figure out how to get the best out of the individual,” Tilley said. “If you want to be a good leader you’ve got to be a good communicator, but most of all you’ve got to be a good listener.”
Preston said that a week ago he was in Somerset, Kentucky where he was invited to speak at an event where a group of new recruits were being sworn in to join the U.S. Army.
“As I spoke to all the new recruits my message to them is I am one of them. I grew up in a small community. I came from very humble beginnings.”
He talked about when he was a young sergeant and it was time to reenlist, he decided to do it based on three things.
The first was command climate. “The command climate in that organization was one where you felt empowered, you enjoyed coming to work every day because the leadership was very positive.”
The second was job satisfaction. “I was doing what I came into the Army to do. The Army was paying me to ride dirt bikes. How cool is that.”
The third reason was quality of life. “It was quality of life for not only just me but for my family. I knew then that the quality of life I had there was far better than what I could provide for my family going back home,” Preston said.
He said he and his family also wanted to travel and see the world.
Dailey said he knew at an early age that he was going to be in the service.
“I was inspired by the male figures in my family to do just that.”
His brother had served before him and his grandfathers had also served.
“One thing I realized from the very first day I got to my unit was how good the leaders were.”
Whenever people ask him how he became SMA he said everyone has a different path. In his case he said he owes it to good leaders.
“I was blessed, I had something that not every Soldier had, I never had a bad leader. I had some of the best leaders and I learned from them about what it is like to take care of Soldiers and their families with passion and care.”
Dailey, the 15th SMA, held numerous positions while serving in the United States Army. While Serving as the TRADOC CSM he transformed the Warrior Leader Course making it slightly longer, adding more land navigation, more physical fitness, counseling and assessing subordinates.
Preston, the 13th SMA, is the longest serving Sergeant Major of the Army with more than seven years in the position. He retired from active duty in 2011 after serving 36 years.
As an NCO leading Soldiers in the field, Preston was a consummate trainer and mentor, ensuring Soldiers who served under him were given every opportunity to seek out and obtain the necessary training for success in the Army. He led the transformation of the Army into a modular force capable of supporting a nation at war in an era of persistent conflict while maintaining Soldiers’ readiness and education.
Tilley, the 12th SMA, set out to focus on the top issues of concern to the enlisted force at the time – pay, retirement benefits, quality of life and health care. He expanded on the MACOM CSM Conference and established the first ever Sergeant Major of the Army’s Nominative Command Sergeant Major Conference at Fort Bliss, Texas in January 2001. Enroute to a Conference when terrorists crashed a plane into the Pentagon, Tilley turned the driver around and returned to D.C. where he provided first aid and comfort. He redirected his energy to supporting an Army engaged in a Global War on Terrorism during the invasion first of Afghanistan and eventually Iraq.
At the end of lunch WSMR Commander Brig. Gen. George C. Turner presented all three of the SMA with a certificate of appreciation.
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