Courtesy Photo | Lt. Col. Jeffery Howard, who has served as executive officer of 1st Advise and Assist...... read more read more
By Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – Contrary to the notion of infantry elitism in airborne units, an armor officer will be taking command of an 82nd Airborne Division cavalry squadron this fall.
Lt. Col. Jeffery Howard, promoted to lieutenant colonel while serving as executive officer of the 82nd’s 1st Advise and Assist Brigade in Iraq, is about to achieve what he set his sights on 20 years ago.
“A small-town boy from Arkansas is getting to be a squadron commander in the 82nd Airborne. I can’t ask for much more than that,” said Howard.
Howard will take command of 4th Brigade Combat Team’s 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment this fall in a change of command ceremony to take place at the unit’s home of Fort Bragg, N.C.
Prior to his two-year assignment as the 1/82 executive officer, Howard served two years as executive officer of the brigade’s reconnaissance battalion, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment.
“I’ve been blessed with two great brigade commanders, Col. [Charles] Flynn and Col. [Mark] Stammer,” said Howard. “They didn’t pigeonhole officers based on branch. They saw a need and they looked at capability and put people in there.”
Howard said that Stammer, the current brigade commander, has a particularly inclusive command style.
“Many people in the Army hear ‘82nd’ and think we’re exclusive,” said Howard. “We want a guy who’s got his Ranger tab, his Jumpmaster’s badge. Sure, we want those things, but when we’re trying to get the mission done, we’re also looking for the right people for the job too, with the right attitude and the right mindset to get the job done.
“That’s what Col. Stammer did. He’s got a deputy commander Special Forces guy, and he’s got an XO who’s an armor guy.”
Howard attributes four successful years at the post of executive officer to his ability to find the right person to solve a particular problem, ensuring they create and maintain a system to deal with it, and looking ahead, he said.
“We laugh about it all the time – beating the drum, rowing the boat – but really that’s what you do, keeping the crew rowing. He’s the captain, but you’re the one who keeps the ship moving and going the right direction,” he said.
Originally from Clarksville, Ark., Howard attended his hometown college of the University of the Ozarks, where he met his future wife, Donita, and won a scholarship with the Reserve Officers Training Corps.
“I learned that I could go to college and be in the military, and there were pretty girls too,” Howard joked. “I thought, ‘Man, this is a good deal.’”
Commissioned in May 1993, Howard attended Officers Basic Course at Fort Knox, Ky., and then spent nearly four years at Fort Hood assigned to a tank battalion with 1st Cavalry Division.
In 1997, he deployed to Bosnia with 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Polk, La. Upon returning to the United States, he spent two years in Shreveport, training National Guard units and earning a master’s degree.
Howard was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, from 2004 to 2005, and again from 2007 to 2008 with 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, following Army modularization.
He was the squadron’s first executive officer.
“As Gen. Petraeus likes to say, we were taking an engine apart, giving it a tune-up and running it at 100 mph over eight months before we deployed,” he said.
The son of a retired Air Force noncommissioned officer, Howard attributes his success to a combination of good fortune and hard work.
“I may not be able to build the train, but I can drive it,” he said. “I think the key is, whatever job you get, you do the best that you can and you tackle it.”
Howard and his wife have three boys. His folks still live in Clarksville, Ark.
“Every birthday, my mother gives me an annual subscription to the Clarksville Graphic, our hometown newspaper,” he said.
“I had it all three deployments here in Iraq. I always read it to see what’s going on at home. It’s the reason why we are here, so that we can go back to having that kind of life.”
| Date Taken: | 07.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2010 04:35 |
| Story ID: | 52384 |
| Location: | AL ASAD AIR BASE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 824 |
| Downloads: | 417 |
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