Photo By Staff Sgt. Rebecca Petrie | U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Wallace, a network management technician...... read more read more
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FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii – Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Wallace, a network management technician assigned to the 516th Theater Signal Brigade and originally from Ballston Spa, New York, has significantly impacted the signal community and set the path for future warrant officers to follow.
"Wallace is one of the most technically gifted and motivated warrant officers within the theater,” said Maj Joseph Ramaglia, the 516th TSB S3 engineering officer in charge. “He truly exemplifies what it means to be a "silent professional" while at the same time guaranteeing mission success inside and outside of the organization by spearheading solutions and mentoring junior technicians.”
Wallace grew up as the second youngest of ten children. He initially joined the military to pay for school, earning a degree in computer information systems with a concentration in networking. He went on to complete a graduate-level advanced degree certificate in cyber operations.
Although his initial motivation was self-improvement, Wallace’s experiences as an enlisted Soldier gave him a unique perspective among his graduate peers. “I wanted to be able to make significant changes,” Wallace said of his decision to become a Warrant Officer.
Two of Wallace’s most impactful mentors were Lt. Col. Sean McNichol, and Department of the Army Civilian Todd Redenbaugh.
“He sent me, as the most junior NCO, to lead a deployment to Afghanistan,” Wallace said of McNichol, the 2nd NATO Signal Battalion, Deployable Communication Module-Charlie commander, played a significant role in Wallace’s career development.
McNichol gave Wallace opportunities early on to test his mettle. The risk he took sending Wallace to lead the mission helped build Wallace’s confidence and left an indelible impression.
“He showed a lot of faith and trust… a lot.”
At the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Redenbaugh provided the foundation that would set Wallace up for his career as a warrant officer
“He afforded a lot of opportunities for personal and professional development,” said Wallace. “He gave me time for tests, and to obtain certifications.”
Each one of Wallace’s duty assignments expanded his knowledge and skills and helped him develop and succeed as a Soldier. As a Warfighter in a U.S. Army Forces Command unit at Fort Campbell, Wallace learned the importance of completing the mission.
“You gotta get it done,” Wallace said. “Whatever it takes,” he said.
As an installer at his next assignment at Fort Belvoir, Wallace learned the signal standards and became proficient at knowing what right looks like. As a recruiter, Wallace learned planning and time management – skills that have proved invaluable throughout his career. At NATO, he learned cultural diversity and the advantage of being able to work with people with so many different backgrounds, ideas, and beliefs, and at SWCS, Wallace learned enterprise operations – building on skills developed previously and emerging as one of the most highly specialized experts in his field.
All of these lessons have groomed Wallace for his current assignment as a network engineer with the 516th TSB.
“Over the past 16 months working with Wallace, he has served as officer in charge for the battalion regional network operations security center and brigade S3 network technician,” said Ramaglia. “He has played a critical role in assisting our subordinate battalions during circuit and service outages while directly leading communication support initiatives for U.S. Army Pacific and I CORPS during theater exercises. During exercise Talisman Saber '23, he worked diligently with U.S. Army and foreign technicians on Mission Partner Environment transport, data, and voice engineering to ensure command and control (C2) was established between forward deployed, home station, and coalition entities.”
Wallace sums up everything he’s learned into one lesson: make your time matter. We have a finite amount of time to leave our mark – to make a difference.
“There’s a problem that needs to get solved,” Wallace said, “so you just help everybody.” He exemplifies this by living according to his leadership philosophy of helping everybody, regardless of rank or status.
With the time he has left with the 516th TSB, Wallace hopes to stand up an ICAN core in Guam, modernize licensing systems and business practices at the NEC battalions, and finish building out a dynamic dashboard for 307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion – Enhanced to articulate readiness and work flow.
“Chief Wallace embodies the best of what makes our Warrant Officer Corps great,” said Lt. Col. Donald Pratt, 516th deputy brigade commander. “He is a technical expert and superb leader who invests heavily in mentoring and developing others. His work ethic and capability are unmatched. Put simply, he makes the units he is in and those around him better.”
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2023 20:34 |
| Story ID: | 456628 |
| Location: | HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 195 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Pacific Signal Warrant Officer: Exemplary Silent Professional, by SSG Rebecca Petrie, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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