Photo By Senior Airman Serena Smith | U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Robert Paoletti stands at attention as Ruffles and Flourishes...... read more read more
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May 20, 2022
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— While Ruffles and Flourishes plays, Robert Paoletti stands at attention with tears in his eyes, looking into the crowd full of his family and coworkers. Just behind him, his young granddaughter, dressed in pink steals the show, clapping and admiring the flags behind him.
To his military family, he is now known as General, but to his family at home, he is known as Nono, or grandpa in Italian, to the “little monster and light of his eye.”
The California National Guard welcomed their newest general, Brig. Gen. Robert Paoletti, Director of Joint Staff, California Military Department, who was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General during a promotion ceremony at Mather Field, Sacramento, California, May 6, 2022.
Paoletti, who began his career as an enlisted Soldier in 1990, attributes much of his success to the support of his family and mentors he worked with throughout his career.
The father of three enrolled in the California Military Academy to commission as a second lieutenant in 1994. After commissioning, he became Rifle Platoon Leader, Company B 1-184th Infantry Battalion in Lodi.
While drilling part-time, he also began a successful career in law enforcement that would span over 24 years, including serving as Redding’s Police Chief.
While balancing a family, his military career and his civilian job, Paoletti deployed in support of domestic missions, as well as Operation Noble Eagle in 2002 and served in Iraq in 2005-2006 and again in 2009-2010.
Paoletti made it known his family is the key to his success. He became very emotional during his promotional ceremony, thanking friends and family, especially his wife of 25 years Michelle, who received a roaring applause after pinning the new rank to her husband’s chest.
Paoletti also gave heartfelt thanks to many people he considers part of his military family. Col. Jesse Miller and Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley were just some of the many people he mentioned, and he became emotional describing the impact they all had on his career.
He led many state Defense Support of Civil Authorities missions when he was commander of the 49th Military Police Brigade. Teary eyed, he described the 49th as his home. During his three years with the 49th, the brigade responded to nine wildfires, a mudslide and an earthquake, supporting local authorities.
“It made me very proud as a commander to see the performance of such great Soldiers in the 49th,” he said. “The 160th infantry that served with us and any unit that came in, they understood that the focus was on the people that needed help, not on ourselves.”
Paoletti encourages his Soldiers to work on themselves to be the best Soldier they can be. He has plenty of advice for anyone wanting to advance in their career, the same lessons he learned to get him to where he is now.
“You have to develop your competency and know your job is to develop your work ethic,” he explained.
Developing overall fitness, prioritizing family and maintaining your organization's values are the values he has prioritized in his life.
“If you can do [those things] you can get anywhere in this organization. There’s no one holding you back.”
When he’s not working, Paoletti enjoys family time boating and maintaining the family’s ranch in Redding. His young granddaughter, who he described as having “lots of energy” consumes a lot of his time.
After many years in the Army, Paoletti reflects back on his career, proud that he chose to stay in service.
“There’s going to come a collision between your civilian world and your military world… I was there,” he said. “ It's worth it to stay.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.26.2022 14:30 |
| Story ID: | 421637 |
| Location: | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 427 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From stripes to stars: California National Guard gains its newest general during ceremony at Mather Field, by SrA Serena Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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