Photo By Staff Sgt. Courtney Davis | Soldiers assigned to 1st platoon, Alpha Company, 304th Expeditionary Signal...... read more read more
CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – “My dad used to say to me if you are passionate enough about something you start, then that passion is contagious,” said Sgt. 1st Class Chole Allen, a platoon sergeant with 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced, 1st Signal Brigade.
Allen, the daughter of a two-time Vietnam War Veteran, spent her early years in Baumholder, Germany, where she remembers a country still divided by the Berlin Wall.
“I grew up in Baumholder in the ’80s, there was still an East and West Germany,” reminisced Allen. “There was a different feeling of American pride back then since we were in the Cold War, so growing up I always knew we had a reason for being there. Our Soldiers were there to protect democracy and I knew one day I would do it too.”
After spending seven and a half years immersed in the European culture, Allen’s family was headed to Fort Jackson, S.C. It was a culture shock returning to the states. Then a year later, Allen received the news the Berlin Wall had fell, she expressed it was an emotional time for her and she found it difficult to articulate to her peers what this meant for the German citizens.
“My peers wanted to know why I was so emotional,” stated Allen. “It was almost like me having real emotions for a sense of freedom for another country was a foreign concept to them. This was a monumental moment, it meant freedom for a people and a reunion for a lot of families in a country where the culture had become important to me.”
In that moment, at age 14, Allen said something washed over her, she wanted to be part of something larger than herself. She wanted to be in the United States Army.
Allen explored many career opportunities, before realizing her dream to be in the Army never died.
“I was a paralegal at one point and then a high school teacher, but I just knew I wanted to be next to Soldiers,” said Allen. “I wanted to train them, mentor them and give them everything which helped me love the Army, even what people consider the bad stuff.”
At first, Allen said people questioned her sanity, but then her mom and husband agreed they didn’t want to be the reason she deferred her dreams.
“I was grateful for the support of my family,” said Allen. “It was a little funny though, I went through the Fort Jackson (military entrance processing stations), which is the same one my dad and brothers went through and the one my mom has worked at for the past thirty years. It was like a rite of passage.”
The support of her husband and sons allowed her to pursue this three-decade long dream of serving the country and changing lives.
“The first couple of years we had to integrate the boys into the Army life,” said Allen. “My husband works as a full-time (Department of Defense) civilian in the Veteran Affairs Office, and he watches the boys when I’m gone. I wouldn’t be able to do anything without him. Male spouses do not get as much credit as they should, he is my rock.”
Since joining the military Allen has served three years as a drill sergeant. She said her mom used to tell the recruits, “I am the last smile you will see before you meet my daughter.”
Coming off the trail Allen headed to 304th ESBE.
Sgt. Iceland Veasley, 304th ESBE, multichannel transmission systems operator, said when she arrived to the unit Allen was on leave, but a lot of the Soldiers were already talking about how much of a straight shooter the new platoon sergeant, Allen, was and that she was not coming to play.
Veasley braced for the worst, but little did she know there was more to Allen than the picture her peers painted.
“During a mentor meeting we had, sergeant Allen told us she came in the Army at thirty-five,” said Sgt. Iceland Veasley, 304th ESBE, multichannel transmission systems operator. “Also, we found out she had breast cancer and after she went into remission, she came down on drill sergeant orders. She made it through all that stuff and, I would have cried if I came down on orders. Just the fact that it happened to her after she overcame that, I was like, 'yeah, she is the real deal.'”
She uses her life experiences and wealth of knowledge to lead and mentor her Soldier in the right direction on and off duty.
One of Allen’s Soldiers, Pvt. Khalik Wilson, 304th ESBE, nodal network system operator, said Allen’s leadership goes beyond getting the platoon through a mission or showing them how to maintain their equipment. He said she expects excellence both on and off duty, reminding her platoon they are accountable for themselves and others. She also has them volunteer in the community around Camp Humphreys picking up trash.
Now, not only is Allen making Soldiers smile she is encouraging them to always put their best foot forward no matter how small the step. She has served a tour in Afghanistan, been on the drill sergeant trail, coordinated the 2022 Juneteenth Celebration for the Camp Humphreys community and spearheaded a women’s mentor roundtable for her battalion.
“Set your goals and have your own personal successes,” said Allen. “You may not always get recognized for the things you do and that’s OK. If your goal is to mentor one person and you do that, then you are successful.”
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2022 23:43 |
| Story ID: | 425265 |
| Location: | CAMP HUMPHREYS, GYEONGGIDO [KYONGGI-DO], KR |
| Hometown: | DECATUR, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 282 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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