Photo By Leroy Council | Nebraska Army National Guard Capt. Jeremy Ham receives the Gen. Douglas MacArthur...... read more read more
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There are three words and values that leaders who go beyond the standard live by. Those words are from a quote by Gen. Douglas MacArthur which goes as follows: “Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”
One Nebraska Army National Guard Soldier who lives those three words is Capt. Jeremy Ham, maneuver and mobility plans officer, 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, who was recently honored as one of the recipients of the 2022 Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.
“To me, duty, honor and country means I have a responsibility to perform to the best of my ability because other people are depending on me to do so,” Ham said. “I view service as a privilege, we get to serve in a way that many people can't.”
The MacArthur Leadership Award is granted to the top company-grade officers in the regular Army, Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. The prestigious award was given to 28 Army awardees, with a majority of those selected coming from active-duty service.
The recipients receive an engraved 15-pound bronze bust of General Douglas MacArthur mounted on a walnut pedestal. The statues are cast in Chester, Pennsylvania, and sculpted by Zenos Frudakis, director of the National Sculpture Society.
“I was extremely humbled and surprised when I heard the news,” Ham said. “I am very thankful for all of the Soldiers that made this award possible, they certainly earned this award with me.”
The award was presented in Washington D.C. on Oct. 26, 2022, by the Department of the Army and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation. Before the ceremony at the Pentagon, the Soldiers toured the MacArthur corridor and had an office call with the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George. George was also a guest speaker for the official ceremony.
"I want to thank you for the positive impact upfront that you had on Soldiers,” George said. "Being a great leader takes energy, and I want to thank you for the energy and commitment you put into doing that."
Lt. Col. Zachary Labrayere, executive officer, 92nd Troop Command, Nebraska Army National Guard, nominated Ham for the award after witnessing first-hand his calm, natural and motivational leadership while they served together in the Recruiting and Retention Battalion.
“Captain Ham stands out amongst his peers, through both his approach to leadership and the results he generates,” Labrayere said. “He builds teams that rally around the mission, rally around each other, and he fights to break down the barriers standing in the way of their success.”
Labrayere added Ham exceeds the standard values of Duty, Honor and Country through his leadership by embracing the most difficult challenges. Ham said he wanted to thank both Labrayere for the nomination, and the Soldiers he’s served with for their dedication and work ethic that has allowed the organization to achieve great things.
Ham first joined the Army Reserve in 1995 during his freshman year of college. He was a motor transport operator from the ranks of private to staff sergeant before he commissioned as a transportation corps officer in 2002. He held various positions in transportation, including serving as a platoon leader with the 428th Transportation Company for deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. He voluntarily left the Army Reserve in 2006 to pursue a career in education and then joined the Nebraska Army National Guard 10 years later as a plans officer. Ham was a full-time active guard reserve officer in the state for four years before he resigned the position to become a principal at a high school in Holdredge, Nebraska.
Ham lives in Holdrege with his wife Michelle, and children Delaney, Braden, Asher and Declan.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2022 11:02 |
| Story ID: | 432651 |
| Location: | US |
| Hometown: | HOLDREGE, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 243 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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