FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- A woman whose heart beats for the health and welfare of Soldiers and their Family Members received a huge, emotional surprise last week during a civilian luncheon on post.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Sharpe, family readiness support assistant 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI), got a standing ovation from hundreds of her peers July 26 when she was named Fort Drum's 2011-2012 Civilian of the Year for her service to Soldiers and Families.
Col. Noel T. Nicolle, on his last day as Fort Drum's garrison commander, and Col. Walter Piatt, 10th Mountain Division (LI) deputy commanding general - support, presented Sharpe with her award in the ballroom.
In a citation read to the crowd, Sharpe was described as "the backbone of the Family Readiness Support Assistant Program on Fort Drum since its inception" -- her efforts epitomizing "the stalwart work ethic and genuine concern for others that makes Fort Drum's civilian workforce the best in the Army."
After the ceremony, Col. David Francis, 10th CAB commander, said he was extremely proud of Sharpe's accomplishment.
"Taking care of our Families in (10th CAB) is our No. 1 priority," Francis said. "Jackie being selected as the Civilian of the Year absolutely demonstrates her commitment to our Families. That's what makes her special. It makes her special to this command. It makes her special to the Families of this brigade.
"It's absolutely an honor that she has earned and deserves," he added.
To become Civilian of the Year, individuals must be first nominated for Civilian of the Quarter and must have at least one year of superior performance.
In addition to receiving a long list of perks, including a photo with the commanding general, special parking permits, reserved parking, VIP status for the year and special seating at major events, winners receive a monetary award of $1,000.
Sharpe later said she was not only extremely surprised by the announcement that she had won but also very touched.
"The Soldiers and the Families are very near and dear to my heart," she said. "This was huge. It means a whole bunch."
Also moved by the win was her husband, Scott Sharpe, a retired Army sergeant major.
Sharpe said his wife dedicated years of her life to making sure Soldiers and Family Members were taken care of, even while she was married to an infantryman.
"She just carried that over into her civilian job," said Sharpe, who now works at Fort Drum MEDDAC, counseling Soldiers through the medical evaluation board process. "Every day, she commits completely to the mission of taking care of Soldiers and Family Members.
"Her work has been not only here, but across the Army, I believe," he added. "Her initiatives and what she has done at Fort Drum have been (used) at other installations. There's no doubt that her impact is felt everywhere."
Carrie Tate-Meyer, Family Readiness Program manager for the entire 10th Mountain Division, called Sharpe an integral part of the Family Readiness Program, always willing to sit on auxiliary boards or help the FRSA program as a mentor.
"Jackie is a strong advocate for what Family programs should feel like, and she understands that it is always about Soldiers and Families first," said Tate-Meyer, adding that Sharpe not only provides continuity and community resources for her brigade but also ensures those benefits reach other 10th Mountain Division units.
"Jackie is a strong team player and continues to provide guidance, support and opportunities to the rest of the FRSA program," she said. "I could not be more proud of my friend, colleague and fellow Family Readiness Program promoter."
Family readiness guru
Sharpe's first job at Fort Drum was as 1st Brigade Combat Team FRSA in 2005.
She began her current position with the 10th CAB in 2006.
"I've seen the changes of four different brigade commands and oodles and gobs of task force-, squadron- and battalion-level commands, and a lot of company and troop commands," she said. "It's very cool that I get to see somebody moving from company command on to the battalion command, while (maintaining) such a good understanding of what family readiness is and what the FRGs can do for the Soldiers and their Family Members."
In addition to administratively helping commanders and FRG leaders be successful, Sharpe said a huge part of her job is connecting Soldiers and Family Members to services they need on post and around post.
"We're the constant," she said.
Sharpe and other FRSAs direct Fort Drum community members to resources that include everything from financial readiness, assistance and Army Emergency Relief loans to education opportunities in the local community, continuing education for Soldiers, and parent support for Families that home school children or raise a child with special needs.
"Sometimes it can be a minor thing," Sharpe said. "But that's when it means a lot to the Family Members and their Soldier."
Sharpe has participated in Army Family Team Building since 1999. She is now an AFTB master trainer as well as a master resiliency trainer and a facilitator in the Army Family Action Plan program.
She also became a core trainer for Family programs at ACS and volunteers her time to train others.
When there's not enough off-duty time in her schedule, Sharpe is known for using vacation time to volunteer.
"Her ability to carry her love for Family programs extends to her personal life," said Tate-Meyer, who has known Sharpe since 2004. "She is a strong advocate for those around her."
Sharpe said that in addition to Tate-Meyer, many "outstanding ladies" with excellent computer skills and people skills have volunteered their time as FRG leaders over the years.
"Many of those ladies are now battalion FRSAs," Sharpe said.
"It's important," she explained. "We've lived it. We are spouses. Our husbands have deployed. We've dealt with the deployed Families."
Sharpe said the most important factor in the readiness of Families is awareness and in knowing what is available.
She said a friendly and familiar face often helps them obtain that knowledge.
"It's important to me that I get to be that face for them," Sharpe said. "They remember (me). They say that I had helped somebody with something before and they want me to help them.
"When that happens, that is very fulfilling," she added. "Connecting them with whatever organization or resource is very, very fulfilling."
Deployment cycles are the hardest part of her job. Sharpe said she takes the challenge very seriously, prepping Family Members, inviting new ones in, and tackling issues head on with hopes of making every deployment better than the last one.
"We try to do anything to help Family Members be a little more comfortable -- or as comfortable as they can be -- while their Soldier is deployed," she said. "It helps Soldiers, too, to know there is stuff there for their Families.
"It's a constant challenge," Sharpe continued. "We try to get better at it every single time.
"It's always better for the Soldier forward to concentrate on what they have to concentrate on if they know their Family Members are taken care of, or at least have somebody who is a friendly face who has been around and who can help them stay connected," she added.
Before 10th CAB's last deployment, Sharpe and her colleagues initiated a children's town hall meeting, where the brigade commander and his battalion commanders and command sergeants major got in front of young Family Members and took questions.
Sharpe said the children asked questions like: "What is my mom going to eat?" "Are they going to have TV?" "Are there really bad men over there?"
"There were some interesting questions, but some really hard questions, too," Sharpe said. "It was an absolutely phenomenal event."
She said holding age-appropriate discussions was one lesson learned -- next time, there will be two town halls split between younger children and teens.
"I get to see that evolution," she said. "I get to see a good idea that worked, and then how we might make it better.
"At the 10th CAB, we really work well together," she added. "We have weekly meetings. We plan and attack things together. We share best practices. We really are a tight-knit group."
Sharpe also credited Soldiers and the command group at her brigade for making family readiness a success.
"I am amazed at what Soldiers can accomplish," she said. "They fill calendars and still find time to do the Family thing."
She said she never once encountered a Fort Drum commander or leader who did not listen when she talked family readiness.
"Not a one," she said. "I don't know if it is because they are very receptive or I'm just aggressive about it."
Personal history
Sharpe is a self-described "Navy baby." Her father was a chief petty officer stationed on a battleship.
Born in San Diego, she said she was raised up and down the West Coast.
She met her husband in the mid-1990s, while he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash. The two married and moved to Wilmington, N.C., for a period before landing in the desert for six years in Fort Irwin, Calif.
Sharpe said she remembers her husband receiving orders for Fort Drum, which diverted him from attending the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
"The day (in May) that I looked to see where Fort Drum was, it snowed," Sharpe recalled. "I said, 'Where the hell are you taking me?'"
After Sharpe landed her first job at Fort Drum, 1st BCT deployed to Iraq in 2005, her husband deployed to Iraq, and her son, Brian Long, an Army aviation Soldier for seven years, also deployed to Iraq.
She said everything got so overwhelming for her that she ultimately needed to resign her position later that year.
"I went to my home on post and kind of hung out at home for a couple of months," she said, recalling the difficult time before being hired by 10th CAB.
Sharpe said it was not long before she was back in a groove.
During her years with the aviation brigade, she said her son, who is now a Boeing field representative for the Chinook helicopter, explained unfamiliar operations and aviation jargon.
"He helped me out a lot," she said. "I don't call them the small, medium, large and extra-large helicopters anymore."
Long, who works at Fort Hood, is Sharpe's oldest child. She also has a daughter, Kaitlynn, who lives in Phoenix, as well as an 11-year-old girl, Madison.
After her husband retired in 2008, Sharpe said they decided to stay in the area.
"We love it up here," she said. "The North Country feel is very warm and very welcoming. You come here and you try to stay here. It is home. Even when there is a lot of snow on the ground, we get out there and do stuff, and it's really enjoyable."
But it's not just the friendly vibe that kept her here.
Scott Sharpe said being close to an Army installation keeps his wife close to what she loves doing most in life -- serving Soldiers and their Family Members.
"She's very compassionate in all that she does," he said. "It's all focused on taking care of that Soldier. The initiative that she takes, the compassion, the dedication -- it all shows in everything that she does.
"I personally appreciate everything she has ever done, both when I was a member of the military and obviously now, with everything she's doing for the community," he added.
Social Sharing