VICENZA, Italy -- U.S. Army Africa welcomed a new command sergeant major during an assumption of responsibility ceremony Jan. 29, 2020, at Caserma Ederle here.
USARAF Commanding General Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier passed the command’s colors to incoming Command Sgt. Maj. Charles W. Gregory Jr., signifying his acceptance of USARAF’s senior enlisted position.
Gregory initially enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1990, and completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as a 19K armor crewman. He transferred to active-duty service in 1994.
Gregory has served at all levels of noncommissioned officer and senior NCO leadership in many stateside and overseas assignments. His assignments include: tank driver, tank gunner, tank commander, platoon sergeant, drill sergeant and senior drill sergeant, senior intelligence sergeant and first sergeant. He has also served as squadron and brigade operations sergeant major; squadron and battalion command sergeant major; the senior enlisted cavalry adviser and trainer for the Grizzly Team at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany; the command sergeant major for the 7th Brigade U.S. Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox; and most recently as the senior enlisted advisor for the United States Military Training Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Gregory’s diligence and success in these assignments have uniquely prepared him for the responsibilities he will have and duties he will perform as USARAF’s senior enlisted leader, Cloutier said.
“Command Sergeant Major Gregory, in the coming years we are going to be drawing on your decades of experience in training, mentoring and leading Soldiers, as well as on all of your experience dealing with multinational partners.”
“As our command sergeant major, I want you to focus on two things: championing the professional development, readiness and welfare of our enlisted Soldiers here at USARAF and on the continent, and on working toward the professionalization and empowerment of African NCOs,” he said.
“I will also rely on you to model and enforce our Army’s standards across the entire Vicenza military community of more than 15,000 Soldiers, civilians, family members and retirees. As well as, emphasize the role of senior NCOs and NCOs at all levels of leadership. So, essentially, sergeant major, you are the standard-bearer for our command,” he said.
Gregory expressed gratitude to those in attendance from USARAF, U.S. Army Garrison-Italy and the Italian community, for the warm welcome he and his family received.
“To the entire community, it’s hard to believe that I’m standing here today in front of all of you, assuming the amount of responsibility that has been placed on me in this position. I don’t take it lightly,” he said.
“You can’t ask for a better place to be, and I’ve been to a few places. From our Italian hosts to the greater Vicenza military community, this has been phenomenal … I couldn’t have been chosen for a better team, and I couldn’t be in a better spot.
Gregory emphasized that he is ready to help lead the USARAF team to achieve readiness and successfully accomplish the command’s objectives.
“Stay ready, stay focused and be ready for the phone call that we all could get one day. That’s what we do,” he said.
