Photo By Staff Sgt. Tristan Moore | Charles Newbegin, the civilian deputy support operations officer, assigned to 8th...... read more read more
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii – The U.S. Army employs a civilian workforce of nearly 220,000 personnel, and veterans make up around half that entire population. That statistic rings especially true throughout the corridors and offices of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command on Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
As America prepares to celebrate Veterans Day Nov. 11, we highlight one of our Department of the Army civilians and Global War on Terrorism veteran. Charles Newbegin, the deputy support operations officer, has been with the 8th TSC for over two years and comes with over 30 years of experience wearing the uniform.
As a retired colonel with notable decorations including the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal, Newbegin brings a wealth of knowledge and continuity to the 8th TSC headquarters. In the spirit of Veterans Day and the 8th TSC, here are eight questions with and veteran.
Q1: When did you join the Army?
I joined the Army Reserve in January 1983, about three weeks after my 17th birthday. Under the split option program, I attended basic training between my junior and senior years of high school. I completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas, back when it was a training center. I went through basic training again at West Point the following year, although it was called Beast Barracks there. In 1988 I graduated from West Point and was commissioned a second lieutenant into the field artillery and thus began my regular Army journey. Generals George, Kurilla and Poppas are my classmates from that year group – No Task Too Great ’88.
Q2: What is one of your most memorable memories while serving in the Army?
We were in a meeting with the brigade commander, and he said, “Gen. John Tilelli (the United States Forces Korea commanding general) is coming down and he wants to see family housing at Camp Hialeah.” He looked at me and said, “I need an enlisted volunteer, and I want you as the officer.” I responded, “Um, okay, sir, we can do that, but my wife is Korean, and she’s going to ask him to remove his boots.” The brigade commander replied, “Well, he may tell her to pound sand,” and I thought, “Not likely.” I forewarned him, and he said, “Okay, duly noted.”
We had just had a newborn, Emma, and she had just started crawling all over the house. My wife was meticulous about keeping the house clean. So, we put up a sign saying, “Baby crawl zone, please remove your shoes.” Knowing that it could be inconvenience, I put some AAFES plastic shopping bags out so visitors could wear them over their boots as they walked through the house.
Gen. Tilelli entourage of two dozen officers and enlisted personnel showed up. Gen. Tilelli saw the sign and said, “Hmm, okay.” “Sir, we have bags for your boots,” I offered. “Okay,” he said. Only he and his chief of staff came in; everyone else stayed out. He graciously put the bags on his boots, greeted my wife, held our daughter, as my wife showed him around the house. He thanked her and presented her with a coin. That moment showed me his servant leadership style and his profound respect and appreciation for families and the local culture. Not all leaders would have shown that level of leadership and respect.
Q3: What type of experience do you have working in Army sustainment?
I was the 1st Theater Sustainment Command Special Troops Battalion commander. As an STB commander, I quickly learned that I was responsible for most everything, but in charge of very little. Understanding the relationship with the TSC staff made it easy to focus the STB and the Headquarters and Headquarters Company on the customer support relationship necessary to enable the TSC staff directorates to be successful during their deployments and post-deployment resets. We exercised split-based operations from Fort Liberty into the CENTCOM area of responsibility, supporting the TSC staff across the region. This was also the first time I went on a logistics support vessel, which was attached to my command for administrative control. Also notable was that the secretary of the general staff was then Maj. Jered Helwig, who would later become the commanding general of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command.
Q4: What was your transition like after you retired and how did you find your way back to the Army?
I didn’t go directly into the workforce after retiring. I tried and practiced very hard at being a professional bum, spending many days fishing, hunting, and taking wildlife photos. Every day felt like a Saturday, and forgetting to put my watch on was a great experience. After two years of resetting, I applied for and was offered a government civilian job in Korea as the installation maintenance division chief with the Army Field Support Battalion, Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
Q5: What advantage do you think being a veteran provides you with when working with Soldiers?
An appreciation for what Soldiers go through on a daily basis, understanding the big picture, and comprehending (most of the time) the jargon and infamous use of acronyms. I also believe that being a retired senior-grade officer obligates me to be candid with senior active-duty officers about stomping out stupid (SOS) things that just don’t make sense. I can’t say that I am always successful, but I bring a voice with experience behind it. Plus, for me, it feels like I am back doing what I used to do, except not having to worry about height and weight, passing a physical training test, or dealing with a new uniform change punching a hole in my bank account.
Q6: If you were given the choice to do it all over again, would you still choose to join the Army?
If I had to do it all over again, I would. I never really thought about doing anything else. My military experience has been a series of adventures and opportunities to see the country and the world, and to meet people from so many different walks of life. It was a job that allowed me to serve and work with others, and hopefully make a difference, leaving things better than how we found them.
Q7: What advice would you give to junior officers and Soldiers?
I would tell the officers to take care of your Soldiers. Take the motto “people first, mission always.” A lot of the time you hear "mission first;" no, it's the other way around. People are always first. If you take care of your Soldiers first, your mission will always get done. To the young Soldiers, I would say the first assignment does not define the Army. I would tell that to the officers too. Don’t let that first assignment ruin the rest of the Army experience for you. You could get a bad assignment to begin with, but just know that, at least with the Army, you have the opportunity to move, and supervisors change out.
Q8: How did the service impact the way you approach challenges and difficult situations in life?
Being flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. The enemy (manmade or nature) learns, evolves and has a vote and usually never follows the ‘perfect’ plan you created. This applies to living your daily life, although I found change in my daily life (outside of the military) harder to adapt too than change within the military. I think having a constant within my daily non-military life provided the stability from which I could be flexible and adaptable with my military duties.
Military also taught me that you can’t do everything yourself and you had to learn to delegate. However, delegation was not something you just blindly did. As a leader you needed to know the strengths and weaknesses of your subordinates and then trust, empower and enable them for success.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.07.2024 22:24 |
| Story ID: | 484906 |
| Location: | FORT SHAFTER, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 51 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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