Soldier Advances Through 3 Rank Structures

By Army Sgt. Sung-jun Lim
19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

CAMP HENRY, South Korea, March 27, 2013 – It is challenging enough to become a noncommissioned officer, let alone a chief warrant officer and a field grade officer. But Army Lt. Col. Anthony G. Glaude, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command’s assistant chief of staff for information management, or G-6, has accomplished all that and more.

Army Lt. Col. Anthony G. Glaude brings experience as a noncommissioned officer and a warrant officer to his work as 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Brigade assistant chief of staff for information management. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Glaude, who enlisted in the Army as a telecommunications center operator, later became a warrant officer and then a commissioned officer.

“I have gone through all three rank structures,” Glaude said. “I believe it gives me the ability to relate and empathize with soldiers regardless if they are enlisted soldiers, warrant officers or commissioned officers. I feel soldiers are comfortable around me, and therefore more honest and open with me, which allows me to be a better leader.”

Before joining the Army, Glaude enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1980. He left the Corps as a lance corporal, and later decided to add a new dimension to his military career. He enlisted in the Army in 1985, serving seven years and attaining the rank of sergeant.

“When I enlisted in the Marine Corps, my plan was not to make the military a career,” he said. “I planned to use the military as a stepping stone for a future job. But I liked the military and wanted to continue to serve, so I joined the U.S. Army in 1985, and the rest is history.”

Glaude said his 12 years as an enlisted service member gave him a strong thirst for further expertise and development.

“I wanted to be an expert in my field of communications,” he said. “[Warrant officers] become experts at their job because their knowledge, skills and abilities continue to grow year after year by basically performing the same kinds of jobs throughout [their] career.”

Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Michael Loyd, 1st Theater Sustainment Command senior electronics maintenance technician, said Glaude is a leader who leads from the front and sets examples in all he does without hesitation. “He is well organized, extremely competent, and has an excellent rapport with people,” Loyd added. “He and I have been friends for many years, since we met at the Warrant Officer Candidate School, and I am proud to have served with him.”

After four years as a warrant officer, Glaude, by then a chief warrant officer 2, looked for another challenge. He decided to become a commissioned officer.

“Serving as a warrant officer was great, but for me something was missing, and that something was working with more soldiers on a more personal basis,” he said. “As a warrant officer, I typically had a few soldiers, but as a commissioned officer, I worked with thousands of soldiers. This gave me, and still gives me today, a chance to make a positive impact or difference in someone’s life.”

Army Sgt. Maj. Richard A. Jones, 19th ESC G-6 sergeant major, said Glaude’s experience makes him an effective leader. “As an officer, he spent his time as a junior officer from platoon leader to company commander and understands what it takes to be a successful leader,” Jones said. “His door is always open to provide that mentorship to anyone that comes into his office.

“His previous experiences are an asset to the G-6 team as well as the 19th ESC,” he continued. “Being an NCO in the past, he understands what it means to be a first-line leader of soldiers and the importance of training them to standard. He respects the opinions of the NCOs and empowers them to do what needs to be done.”

The technical expertise he gained as a warrant officer allows Glaude to communicate and understand the world of a technician and to provide soldiers with the tools they need to be successful, Jones said. He also knows where to get the right answers, he added.

Glaude hasn’t been immune to the difficulties and hardships many military members undergo, especially when his responsibilities kept changing as he placed himself in new environments.

“The Army is a hard life in and of itself -- the requirements, commitment and sacrifice can be daunting over time, since you inherit more responsibility as you earn more rank,” he said. “And for me, it is very difficult being away from my family, like many military members will tell you. However, this is the life I chose, and my family still supports my service.”

Glaude said his wife, a retired signal warrant officer, helped him overcome obstacles and has made him what he is. She keeps him straight and grounded, he added, taking care of their family while he is gone so he can concentrate on his job.

Even with 33 years of military service, Glaude said, he believes he still has more to give as long as he is still healthy enough to lead and motivate soldiers.

“I would like to be a battalion commander, which would allow me to reach out to a large population of soldiers and civilians, and provide the best leadership I could possibly provide,” he said.

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Patriotism Drives Army's Recruiting, Retention Success

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 5, 2007 - Enlistment and retention bonuses, educational benefits and other incentives are invaluable recruiting tools, but Army officials say old-fashioned patriotism is just as big a motivator in attracting soldiers to the force and encouraging them to stay. "There are a lot of patriots out there," said Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, during a media roundtable yesterday.

Despite low unemployment rates and a near-guarantee that they'll eventually deploy into combat, young men and women continue to hold up their right hands and volunteer to serve in the Army, he said.

As of July 30, the latest month for which statistics are available, almost 62,000 soldiers had entered active duty so far this fiscal year, and almost 21,500 have joined the Army Reserve. Bostick expressed confidence that the Army will meet its year-end goals of 80,000 active duty and 26,500 Army Reserve troops.

He praised the young men and women who enlist because "they want to do something that is bigger than themselves -- something for their nation that they can be proud of."

Many recognize they could make more money in the private sector, he said, but join the military seeking discipline, leadership skills and the opportunity to serve their country.

Nowhere is this phenomenon more evident than in the Army's sky-high retention rates, particularly among troops who have served in combat.

Army Brig. Gen. Michael T. Harrison, the 10th Mountain Division's deputy commanding general for support, told reporters yesterday that he's seen it firsthand among division members who have served in Afghanistan and currently are in Iraq.

By the end of July, the Fort Drum, N.Y., division already had met its retention goals for the fiscal year. "In every category -- we are talking initial-term soldiers, mid-term soldiers and career soldiers -- we have exceeded our objective by more than 100 percent," Harrison said.

The Army Reserve has had similar success, exceeding its retention goals for first-termers by 55 percent with two months left in the fiscal year, Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, the Army Reserve's top noncommissioned officer, told American Forces Press Service today. Retention rates for career soldiers have also topped year-end goals.

"That's remarkable," Caffie said, citing equally impressive statistics among troops who have deployed to combat.

"If you look at the stats for soldiers who have been deployed in the Army Reserve, those retention rates are astronomical as well," he said. "We have done a remarkable job of retaining soldiers with combat experience, who have deployed into either Afghanistan or Iraq."

"In many cases, they stay because they are proud of the Army," Bostick said of troops both in the active and reserve components. "They feel like they are in the greatest Army on the face of the earth, with wonderful equipment, the best training, the best leadership."

Harrison agreed that being part of "a great institution" makes soldiers want to continue serving. But it goes beyond that, he said, to the relationships built and the personal gratification of service. "It is a sense of teamwork, a sense of wanting to be part of something honorable," he said. "We see that every single day. We have a bunch of proud soldiers here."

Like their active-duty counterparts, many Army Reservists re-up because they believe they're making a contribution of their country and the freedoms it guarantees its citizens, Caffie said.

"The freedom that one has in this country is unparalleled to anything else in the world. That's the reason a lot of these soldiers continue to serve today -- because they figure that one must be willing to pay to be free," he said. "They're great American patriots."

The leaders agreed that soldiers welcome retention bonuses, but don't base their decisions about service on them.

"Bonuses are not enough to make up for the challenges and demands that these soldiers and families face," Bostick said. Especially for troops who re-enlist in Iraq, "there is no amount of money that you can pay to someone that believes they are in a bad organization and in harm's way to the point where they feel their life is threatened," he said.

"This is a tough business. It's dangerous, and they realize it," Bostick said. "We pay bonuses to help encourage them to make a decision that they probably would make regardless."

At Fort Drum, Harrison said many soldiers re-enlist "without much consideration to a bonus."

"They will tell you it's important to remain part of a team that is doing something vital for this nation," he said. "And they are pretty proud of that."