188th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
7/23/2013 - FORT SMITH, Ark. -- For his long career of service and mentorship to others, Lt. Col. Anderson Neal, Jr., 188th Maintenance Group commander, 188th Fighter Wing, Fort Smith, Ark., was presented with the 2013 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award on July 16, 2013, at the organization's annual convention held this year in Orlando, Fla.
"The mentoring Lt. Col. Neal does is huge," said Lt. Col. Judith Mathewson, 188th Mission Support Group deputy commander. "He mentors individuals all around the base, not just people who work for him in Maintenance Group. He is a role model, not only for African Americans but for all individuals in the unit so they can perform at their best. He does the same things for people working for him at USDA that he does at the 188th: Mentors people who want to be leaders."
Named for noted civil rights advocate and former NAACP executive director Roy Wilkins, the award honors military members and Department of Defense civilian employees who have made a significant contribution to civil or human rights and exhibit the core values of their respective military service. Neal was presented the award during an Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Awards luncheon in Orlando, where the NAACP recognized military members and civilians for their contributions to equal opportunity, human relations and America's veterans.
Neal is a soft-spoken leader known for his personable manner and warm smile. Those traits also served him well when he began his career at the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1987, he was promoted to the Soil Conservation Service's regional office in Hope, Ark., and saw his opportunity to make needed changes in the organization.
"That [position] was my first leadership role at USDA," Neal said. "In that role was the first opportunity I got to do some things as far as making a difference, being able to hire a diverse staff, that kind of thing. When I started there I was 27 years old and all of my employees were probably 45 and up - and all white. The entire agency was primarily white, so I took it upon myself to try and make a difference as far as diversity, and really do some things to make sure that people of color were actually participating. When I left there, I had the most diverse staff of anybody."
Guest speaker Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke III, director of the Air National Guard, called diversity a military necessity and an asset that will make the National Guard and the military stronger.
"In the National Guard and the United States military we have adopted many of the principles the NAACP holds dear in order to build a more diverse, and therefore stronger workforce," Clarke said.
Neal grew up on an Eastern Arkansas farm as one of 11 children. His parents were sharecroppers who had little opportunity for formal schooling, but impressed upon him and his siblings the values of hard work and education.
"We've got one doctor, one accountant and two school teachers [among my siblings]" Neal said. "Most of the others have a few years of college as well. When I went off to college, I knew there were several things I didn't want to do: I wanted to get away from farming, I didn't want to teach and I didn't want to do anything with the military. Now, I have 28 years in the military and almost 37 years with the Department of Agriculture. I started to work for USDA right in my hometown. I actually went out to advise people that I used to work with as a sharecropper."
The Guardsmen who have worked alongside Neal attest to his willingness to make connections and forge relationships between people of differing backgrounds.
"I had an opportunity to work with Lt. Col. Neal on some personnel issues for the Maintenance Group," Mathewson said. "At the time, he had an individual who was in a crisis situation. Lt. Col. Neal was able to talk to that person and using his personality, his mentorship and his leadership, help that individual through their crisis. What I saw in Lt. Col. Neal was that not only was he personable, but through his leadership he was giving his Airmen good guidance and was understanding of the personal crisis that individual was going through."
Maj. Lionel Riley, 188th Equal Opportunity Office chief, said Neal was a strong mentor to him early in his career as an officer.
"I was a first lieutenant, just made Services Flight commander," Riley said. "Lt. Col. Neal took me aside and said 'Don't hesitate to let me know what you need. This job can be hard to do when you don't know everyone.' That mentoring continued through my career. He would sometimes stop me on base and ask if I knew so and so - some random person, it seemed - and then would give me their contact information and encourage me to call.
"He knew that I worked for Wal-Mart and would get me in touch with people there, too. He's always been proactive about relationships. He's always providing tidbits of advice without me seeking him out and he's open that way with everybody, really. Anyone who approaches him, he's going to address candidly and sincerely and that goes a long way with the younger troops."
Whether it was helping farmers increase their crop yield in rural Arkansas, counseling Airmen on how to advance their careers, or working to ensure a more level playing field for the people around him, Neal has made building bridges between people his primary focus.
"When I was enlisted out here, our commander would always be standing on the catwalk overlooking the hangar," Neal said. "You never saw him out on the flightline or in any of the shops. I don't want to be remembered like that. I'm trying to make a difference."
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