50-years at Fort Jackson: 'Penn'ing a path to victory

Photo By Nathan Clinebelle | Peggy Penn shakes the hand of Brig. Gen. Jason E. Kelly, Fort Jackson commander, after being awarded for her 50 years of service on post.  

FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

09.14.2023

Story by Emily Hileman 

Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office

When her high school teacher recommended that she take the Civil Service Test in 1973, Peggy Penn had no idea that a simple test would lead to a lifelong career at Fort Jackson. She was recently honored for 50 years of service on post.
A Columbia, South Carolina native, Penn always knew the base was nearby, but hadn’t thought of working on the installation.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I grew up,” she said. “I knew I was going to do something clerical, but I hadn’t thought of civil service.”
“Back then we had to take a civil service test to even be able to start working civil service,” Penn said. “And one of my teachers in high school … said ‘I think you’d be the perfect fit,’ so she set me up to take the test.”
Penn took the test shortly before she graduated high school and swore in as a civil servant just 35 days after her high school graduation.
She started her journey as a GS-02 Clerk Typist with the 1st Basic Combat Training Brigade. The 1st BCT Brigade became the 193rd Infantry Brigade after they reactivated at Fort Jackson in 2007 due to a push by Training and Doctrine Command to instill a sense of history and pride in BCT brigades.
Penn remained with the unit as a clerk typist until 1996.
“That’s when they started doing away with a lot of positions in the brigades and mine was one of them,” she recounted. “So, they offered me a congressional clerk position … I was there for about a year when the adjutant general secretary (position) opened.”
In 2001, the Directorate of Human Resources was created and oversaw both the Adjutant General division as well as the Army Career and Alumni Program, now known as the Soldier for Life-Transition Assistance Program.
“From that point, it started to grow and then my position became the administrative officer,” she said.
Although some changes and various situations made her consider positions in the private sector, she ultimately decided to commit to her career as a federal employee.
Over the past 50 years, she’s been privileged to see Fort Jackson grow and evolve in to the installation it is today.
“When I first came here, we had train tracks on Marion Street, and that’s where all the Soldiers would go to leave for Christmas exodus,” she recounted. “… And where (the Directorate of Human Resources) sits now used to be the old hospital. As a matter of fact, the morgue used to be in this exact spot.”
Penn said it’s interesting to see how many changes the installation has gone through both tangible and non-tangible.
“We used to have a printing plant here on the installation and it fell under the (Adjutant General),” she said. “So, instead of having things sent off post, we’d print them right here.”
Although she’s enjoyed seeing the Soldiers and Department of the Army Civilians on Fort Jackson over the years and she’s working in the position that she considers to be the highlight of her career, Penn intends to end her 50-year tenure on a high note and will retire at the end of this year.
Just because she plans to retire, she doesn’t have any plans to slow down during her retirement.
“I’m a music director at a local church, so I’ll keep that up,” she said. “And then I’m planning on doing several projects around the house and some traveling.”
For young adults looking to follow a similar trajectory, Penn has some advice.
“Work hard and make sure your work ethics are good,” she said. “You’ve got to be willing to take the initiative to do things on your own and look for the things you can do to help and make things better.”

• Date Taken: 09.14.2023
• Date Posted: 09.14.2023 11:23
• Story ID: 453425
• Location: FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US