Photo By Timothy Hale | Rita Broadway, U.S. Army Reserve Command deputy chief executive officer, gives her...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – After 38 years of federal service, Rita Broadway said farewell to the Army Reserve at a ceremony in her honor, here, April 15, 2014.
Previously retired from uniformed service as a major general in 2011, Broadway said she never really planned for that long of a career in federal service had it not been for being in the right place at the right time.
She said it was a chance encounter, as a student at Kansas State University, which led her to ROTC and an Army commission in 1976.
Broadway started her federal civilian service career in May 1997. After graduating from KSU with a bachelor’s degree in chemical science, she served on active duty as a transportation officer and a chemical officer.
After her active duty time, Broadway was working at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., as a nuclear medicine technologist where she met a full-time Army Reserve officer.
“He was an AGR officer from the 89th ARCOM who came in for a scan of his knee,” Broadway said.
She said after addressing him by his rank of major, the officer said he was surprised that she knew how to read military rank.
“I told him I had just gotten off active duty as a first lieutenant and he said, ‘have you thought about getting into the Army Reserve?’”
She admitted to him she didn’t even know the Army Reserve was in Wichita.
That second chance encounter led her to the 89th in 1979. Through the years, she rose through the ranks of the 89th serving in various staff positions and eventually became the commander of the 89th Regional Support Command in April 2005.
Meanwhile, she continued to rise through the civil service ranks as well, becoming the deputy chief executive officer for USARC and the director of civilian personnel.
Broadway said there were many mentors along the way ranging from general officers, noncommissioned officers, warrant officers, and senior civilians.
“I don’t think that I can single anybody out,” she said. “When I first came on active duty in 1976 there were not many female officers so my mentors were men. They saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself and pushed, and prodded, and pulled. They were there both on my military and civilian side to help me be successful.”
Broadway said she loves to see the results of her efforts, whether she is wearing a uniform or not. Part of that satisfaction comes from her love of gardening and cooking.
“I’m a visual person. I like to be able to see results,” she said, adding that she gets the same satisfaction from her military and civilian career.
“That is why I get such fulfillment when I see individuals that I’ve coached and mentored achieve their goals. You can see the fruits of your labor,” she said.
Broadway said she is looking forward to retirement but said she will not be far from the Army Reserve.
“My husband and I own a home in Wichita and I have every intention of staying involved with the Army Reserve in some form. I love the Army Reserve … I want to continue to contribute,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2014 16:31 |
| Story ID: | 126103 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 653 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Just by chance: Encounters lead Broadway to nearly 40 years of service, by Timothy Hale, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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