Courtesy Photo | After 32 years of service, Col. William P. Higgins has retired from the U.S. Army...... read more read more
After 32 years of service in the U.S. Army Reserve, Col. William P. Higgins has retired.
“Colonel William Higgins has dedicated more than three decades of selfless service to his nation,” said Maj. Gen. Jonathan Woodson, the commander of Army Reserve Medical Command. “Less than two percent of Soldiers advance to the rank and responsibility he has achieved.”
An alumnus of Florida State University, Higgins earned a Bachelors degree in computer science and commissioned as a military intelligence officer in May of 1990 through the college’s Reserve Officer Training Corps.
He worked in many diverse roles across the spectrum of military intelligence in Army Reserve units in Indiana, Virginia, and Georgia, as he rose through the ranks, to include commanding Detachment 2 of the 2100 Military Intelligence Group in Sharonville, Ohio. Higgins culminated his service as the G2 of the Army Reserve Medical Command, in Pinellas Park, Florida.
At AR-MEDCOM, his section was responsible for the management, execution, and reporting of all personnel security functions for the more than 8,000 Soldiers assigned to AR-MEDCOM, across six separate brigades. During his tenure, Col. Higgins’ team supported four Combat Support Training Exercises that readied military medical professionals to support global combatant command requirements.
“Most of my career was spent in the strategic intelligence world, but the last four years I was able to understand a completely different part of the Army working at AR-MEDCOM,” explained Higgins.
In his civilian career, Higgins is the Director of Engineering within the Advanced Commercial Engineering group for Charter Communications where he leads network and software engineers in the development of new virtualized network functions and solutions for Spectrum Enterprise customers.
“Military Intelligence is all about understanding the enemy and predicting events that could impact mission,” reflected Higgins. “It was completely different than what I was doing in my civilian career in the software industry, which I found invigorating.”
Col. Higgins and his family reside in Castle Rock, Colorado. He recognized that the support of his wife, Stacy, was instrumental to his service and acknowledge that that his daughter Saige, and son Micah, also made sacrifices in their role as a military family.
“My family supported my military career, but it was a bit challenging for them when I missed birthdays, special events and other family activities over the years from time to time,” said Higgins.
Because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 virus, Higgins was unable to travel to AR-MEDCOM headquarters for his final Army Reserve battle assembly and retirement ceremony.
“Due to restrictions created by COVID-19, we were not able to provide Col. Higgins and his family with the level of ceremony they certainly have earned,” said Woodson, who awarded Higgins the Legion of Merit for the accomplishments he achieved in his career.
Woodson further added, “We are grateful for his service to our nation, and he remains a Soldier for life in our Army family.”
Higgins military awards also include the Meritorious Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster, Army Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, Army Service Ribbon, and Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon.
“The experiences and the world view the Army Reserve can provide you are like none other, and I have met the most amazing people,” added Higgins. “Being a Citizen-Soldier can be difficult; balancing two careers, family obligations, and more, but reflecting on my service, it was well worth it for me.”
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2020 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 376823 |
| Location: | PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: | TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 318 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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