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I had the great pleasure of meeting SMA Gates and providing transport for him aboard our helicopter when he came through Augsburg, Germany in the late 1980s. It was quite a memorable experience for me and a real honor to meet him. I will never forget something he said to us as he was about to disembark from the helicopter. My co-pilot, and good friend/brother-in-arms, WO1 Keith Genter bid him "Have a nice day, Sergeant Major." as he was about to remove his headset. The SMA very matter of factly replied, "It's ALWAYS a nice day when you're a Sergeant Major!"...removed his headset and walked away from the aircraft. I looked at Keith, who still had this awestruck look on his face, and said, "Well, I guess he told YOU, didn't he?" LOL. I can only imagine that working directly for or with SMA Gates at any point during his career must have been a great pleasure. SMA Julius W. Gates held the top enlisted post in the Army from July 1987 until June 1991, retiring from active duty immediately following.
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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Thought it appropriate to share a picture of his Shadow box which was online. SMA (ret) Gates was our Eight SMA, a proven and highly decorated Leader during Combat operations, a great Leader and outstanding SMA!
http://www.ausa.org/resources/nco/sma/Pages/8thSMA-JuliusWGates.aspx
http://www.ausa.org/resources/nco/sma/Pages/8thSMA-JuliusWGates.aspx
AUSA's chapters are located world-wide. Their mission is to support our Soldiers and the civilians and families who work alongside of them in the local community. To learn how you can become involved click here.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
A legend amongst the Legends in the Sergeant Major of Army community. Well respected and admired SMA.
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I once had the honor of meeting SMA (RET) Tilley in Germany, once. For a man of about 5'10", his presence was very tall. Even got a coin from him.
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CSM Michael J. Uhlig
SMA Jack Tilley was my Brigade CSM while with the only Separate Armored Brigade in the Army. He had a bar named after him at Fort Knox (while he was there), it was our BDE watering hole....named Tilley's Tavern! Great Warrior and Leader that truly cared about all Soldiers and loved his NCOs, a rare breed!
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He was the SMA when I enlisted and I emulated his stand on discipline, training and the health and welfare of Soldiers/Family.
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