Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon, Senior Multi-Media Journalist, 122nd Theater Public...... read more read more
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A member of the Washington National Guard has achieved the rare distinction of winning top honors for her photography skills for the second time—an accomplishment that is nearly unprecedented.
“When I competed in 2018, it was about proving myself,” said Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon. “It was about proving to everyone that I deserved to be where I was and proving to myself that I had something worthwhile to contribute. This year, I would have been happy if I didn’t go any farther than the National Guard level. I was most proud of winning that. The portfolio I submitted this year had photos of Guardsmen from across the formation, so I don’t really think of it as my win. It’s definitely our win. It was all of us in those photos.”
Witherspoon, a member of the 122nd Theater Public Affairs Support Element, was named the U.S. Army Military Photographer of the Year for the second time in just five years, winning in 2018 and 2023.
Every year, the Army recognizes the best of the best in Public Affairs during the annual Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Communications Awards Competition. With the amount and level of competition, making the cut for an award is considered an honor, and winning in a category is prestigious. Taking top honors more than once is almost unheard of.
Always the constant professional when it comes to photography, “Spoons” admits she wasn’t the typical person who joined the military during the height of the Global War on Terrorism.
“I never experienced that ‘patriotic call to service’ that I suspect drove most people to sign up, and maybe I’ve always felt guilty for that,” Witherspoon admits. “I was running from a difficult home life, and my father died while I was at the Defense Information School. I chose to finish Advanced Individual Training instead of trying to make it home when I heard he was in the hospital. I was worried about getting recycled because, for some reason, I didn’t think I was strong enough to make it through again.”
After finishing training, she joined the 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and served in Kosovo and South Korea before returning to JBLM in 2019. In 2018, then Spc. Witherspoon took the top honors while serving on active duty with the 2nd Sustainment Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
“Winning in 2018 maybe I had a need to assign some higher purpose to the feelings of anxiety, guilt and inevitable burnout that I experienced by the end of my active duty career,” Witherspoon said. ”If I was the best photographer, or the best at something, then it was all worth it.”
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she left active duty and joined the Washington Army National Guard. She was immediately activated and supported the public affairs mission with Joint Task Force Steelhead.
“I found a home here in the Washington National Guard,” Witherspoon said.
When the chance came to compete for a second Military Photographer of the Year award, Witherspoon knew she wanted to try for it again.
“This is our one opportunity in the public affairs career field to really celebrate our craft. So much of our time is spent behind the camera, telling other people’s stories,” Witherspoon said.
The Keith L. Ware Awards recognize soldiers and Department of the Army civilian employees for excellence in achieving the objectives of the Army Public Affairs Program. On behalf of the Secretary of the Army, the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs conducts the competition annually to recognize, cultivate and inspire excellence within the Army public affairs community. For a National Guard members to be eligible for a Keith L. Ware award, they first need to finish in the top two at the National Guard Bureau Media Awards, which is no small feat.
“I think so much of this career field is tailored for the needs of active duty—education, training, doctrine, equipment - but as public affairs in the National Guard, we have to be able to accomplish two very different missions: domestic and federal. It doesn’t feel like we really have a seat at the table when those decisions are being made,” Witherspoon said.
All Military “of-the-year” categories use 13-star grading criteria. Three of the stars are for the soldier requirements, and the 10 remaining stars make up the fundamental, technical, and effectiveness and creativity criteria.
“It meant a lot to me to be able to say that not only do National Guard public affairs soldiers have the drive, but we also have the talent to be the best in the Army,” Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon currently has no desire to pursue a third award. Instead, now as a senior public affairs professional, she wants to build up the skills and passion for the career field in the younger soldiers coming up.
“Sometimes we get bad photographers who just can’t seem to take a good picture. Sometimes we get people who don’t even like to take pictures. What do you do with them? Try and teach them, motivate them, and then just work with them. You can’t hire or fire at will. You’re stuck with these guys. You can’t give someone an article 15 for taking bad photos. Once in a while, you get a soldier who has talent and loves their job – that’s great. Once in a while you get a soldier with no talent but is willing to learn. I’d take that over a talented person who doesn’t want to work any day of the week.”
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2024 13:21 |
| Story ID: | 481408 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | TACOMA, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 590 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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