U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Julio T. Santos, 110th Aviation Brigade command sergeant major, stands for a photo at Fort Rucker, Ala., July 8, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Kelly Morris)
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USAACE welcomes Command Sgt. Maj. Julio T. Santos as the 110th Aviation Brigade command sergeant major.
In his 24-year career, this is first assignment at Fort Rucker. He most recently served as battalion command sergeant major for 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, in support of Joint Task Force-Bravo.
From his childhood he wanted to join the military and was always fascinated with aircraft. In fact, when his teachers would provide career interest assessments, he didn’t want to complete those, because he knew he wanted to serve. He intended to join the Marines, like his dad, but the Army gave him a better option.
One of the personal highlights of his career was being a flight engineer and getting to show his MH-47 aircraft at the same airshow at Andrews Air Force Base that his father had taken him to in his youth, inviting his father to attend, and seeing that come full circle.
Santos crewed on the Chinook helicopter for most of his career.
“I take it to heart. I love that aircraft. It’s the best airframe in the world,” Santos said.
While serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment (“Big Windy”) in Germany, he had multiple rotations to Macedonia and Kosovo. He has had two conventional deployments, to Iraq (2003) and Afghanistan (2017), and while serving with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment he had more than 15 deployments that each lasted from one to four months.
To him, wearing the uniform means being an ambassador, a standard bearer, and a role model.
“A lot of people look up to this uniform. Some people are not lucky enough to get to wear it,” he said. “For me it’s a privilege and an honor.”
Santos said the best thing about being a command sergeant major is the opportunity to coach, teach and mentor, which is his passion.
He said communicating a sense of purpose in a garrison environment contrasts with his most recent assignment.
“A purpose is important. That’s how we connect with our job and our task at hand. That’s what gives us the drive to accomplish goals. When you’re forward deployed, constantly facing humanitarian disasters…you’re actually seeing the results, seeing the affects you have on our partner nations,” he said.
His goal is to help connect people in the training environment to a sense of purpose, and build cohesive teams, even when they may not get to see those immediate results.
Santos arrived back in-country only a few days before his change of responsibility at Fort Rucker, and the staff and his predecessor helped make it a smooth transition. He said he is glad to be back in the States and to see familiar faces at Fort Rucker, including some mentors.
Welcome, CSM Santos!
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2022 17:01 |
| Photo ID: | 7312745 |
| VIRIN: | 220708-A-LO141-192 |
| Resolution: | 3706x3773 |
| Size: | 2.42 MB |
| Location: | FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 314 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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