"This is backwards," said Aubrey Henley, the director of the Office of the Chief of Armor and winner of this year's Frederick Franks award. "I'm usually sitting in the audience admiring the heroes who are at the podium, but now I'm up here (on the stage) and my heroes are in the audience."
The Franks Award is presented each year to the individual who has demonstrated a long-time contribution to the ground-fighting and warfighting capability of the U.S. Army.
Henley described his job as understanding the personnel world from an armor perspective.
As the director of OCOA, Henley is the primary advisor on all issues pertaining to Armor Branch personnel as well as serving as the primary liaison between the Armor Branch of the Human Resources Command and the Chief of Armor. He also serves as the primary troubleshooter for personnel issues within armor. Gen. Robert Williams, now commandant of the Army War College and a former Fort Knox commander, wrote that Henley is recognized across the Training and Doctrine Command as the dean of personnel proponent office directors. He is often sought by others throughout the Armor Force for his advice and assistance.
Furthermore, he is responsible for sustaining personnel readiness for the more than 20,000 Armor Branch Soldiers worldwide. He developed the Stryker Manning Plan for the Armor Branch. He was critical to the development and implementation of the six man scout increase, which will add six scouts to each scout platoon in each brigade combat team throughout the Army by 2011.
Henley has served in the OCOA office for 22 years, and has been the director for 12. He said that he was an infantry officer during his active duty career, so he wasn't well versed in armor.
"The toughest part of the job was that I didn't have the armor doctrinal background. I have to be a very good listener," he said. "But I also have good friends who help me out. Don't ever be afraid to ask; there're a lot of very knowledgable people on Fort Knox."
He joked that he was "raised from a pup in this office," but he doesn't take his job lightly.
"The most satisfying part of this job is having a positive impact on Soldiers' lives. I take a lot of pride in the fact that we sustained promotions and took care of world-class armor Soldiers," he said. "The OCOA motto is 'Soldiers are our business," and I take it very seriously. I ask myself every night before I go to bed, 'What have I done for a Soldier today''"
Henley credited his family for his success.
"I was blessed with two hard-working Christian parents. My mother taught me Army values before we knew anything about Army values," he asserted. "I work for one of the last values-based organizations in the world.
"I am who I am because of my parents. I am also blessed with a beautiful wife and five great kids. Faith, family, and fitness are my priorities."
The Henleys turned out to watch the award presentation on the last day of the Armor Warfighting Conference. Four of his five children were present.
"My kids only saw me going to work every day; they had no idea what I really did. After the ceremony, Meghan (his daughter) called my wife and said, 'I was so proud of Daddy.' That means a lot to me."
Retired Gen. B.B. Bell selected Henley for the director job 12 years ago. He said Henley was one of the most dedicated individuals he had ever known.
"No one -- absolutely no one -- can top this truly amazing American," Bell said in an e-mail interview.
Henley moved to a position at the Human Resources Command.
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