Photo By Timothy Hale | Retired Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, center, accepts a certificate from Brig. Gen. John P....... read more read more
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FORT EUSTIS, Va. – The architect of transforming the U.S. Army Reserve into an operational force was inducted into the Transportation Corps Hall of Fame at a ceremony here, July 24.
Retired Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz said he was honored and humbled to be nominated.
“I don’t consider myself to be a Hall of Famer. I consider myself to be a lucky individual,” Stultz said before a standing-room-only crowd inside the Transportation Corps Museum.
During his six years as Chief of the Army Reserve, Stultz managed constant operational rotations to support combatant commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq, transformed the component into an operational reserve, took care of Soldiers and their Families, and moved the headquarters from Fort McPherson, in Atlanta, to Fort Bragg, N.C. as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure.
He said he felt like he became a Hall of Fame inductee by “not trying to be one” and simply doing his job.
Stultz thanked many of the individuals who helped shape his career including both officers and noncommissioned officers.
“I didn’t get here on anything that I accomplished,” he said. “I got here because of great people that surrounded me and helped me.”
In his nomination of Stultz, Maj. Gen. Luis R. Visot, Army Reserve chief of staff, said Stultz was an “innovative, forward thinker whose plans and strategies facilitated ground-breaking logistical support operations throughout his career.”
A native of Leaksville, N.C., Stultz’s career began at Davidson College in 1974. Originally commissioned as an engineer officer, Stultz left active duty in 1979 to pursue a civilian career with Proctor and Gamble.
In 1987, he joined the Army Reserve with the 32d Transportation Group (Composite). Three years later, he provided transportation support during Desert Shield/Desert Storm for VII Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps in Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
From that point, Stultz continued to carve his name in Army Reserve transportation – and to a certain extent, the entire combat support and combat service support history.
His expertise and knowledge of not only transportation, but also logistics, came to fruition during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As commander of the 143rd TRANSCOM (Forward) in Kuwait in 2002, Stultz led way by establishing command and control operations of port operations to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. That operation saw the off-loading of more than 250 U.S. and United Kingdom ships and 150,000 pieces of cargo for two divisions, two armored cavalry regiments, and one airborne brigade. He also oversaw a Joint Logistic Over-The-Shore operation, serving two U.S. Marine Corps amphibious task forces, coalition forces, plus Army, Marine, and Air Force ammunition supplies.
When the 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) moved into Iraq, Stultz helped establish the first forward airfield at Tallil, providing food, fuel, and ammunition in support of air and ground operations. He also helped establish the first operational railhead in Iraq at Garma Rail Station.
Truck units under his command, established ground supply routes more than 700km from Kuwait to northern Iraq and they logged more than 100 million miles.
Through it all, he maintained the operational nature of the Army Reserve by spearheading the evolution of the Army Reserve Force Generation Model so it would synch with the active Army’s ARFORGEN cycle.
But Stultz’s career wasn’t only about logistics. He, and his wife, Laura, also cared about the men and women serving in uniform, their Families, and the civilians who supported them.
“She was always there. She would always kiss me when I came home at night and then kick me in the butt in the morning and tell me, ‘go be with your Soldiers,’” he said, bringing laughter from the audience. “None of us could do what we do without our Families and our Soldiers. She is part of this, he said, gesturing around the room at the transportation history portrayed. “She is in my Hall of Fame.”
He also established the Employer Partnership Program in 2008 by reaching out to civilian employers to promote a win-win situation for both the Soldiers and the civilian sector. Keeping true to his transportation roots, some of the first companies he contacted were civilian transportation companies – sharing with them the value of hiring military transportation Soldiers.
“What employers are telling us is when they hire a (Army) Reserve soldier, they don't just get an employee, they get somebody that has a great work ethic, that has integrity, that has loyalty, that has dedication, and that productivity goes up,” Stultz told a group of journalists in January 2009 media roundtable.
“I have a good perspective, I think, in terms of how you go back and forth between a civilian to military, back to civilian – some of the challenges it presents for both employers and the Soldier, as well as for the Family,” he continued, at the roundtable discussion.
Stultz also established Army Strong Community Centers across the nation. These centers are designed to support all service members and their Families in locations without military installations.
“We have to bring the installations to the Soldiers and their communities, because they don't have a Fort Campbell; they don't have a Fort Drum; they don't have Fort Hood … so we have to bring it to them,” Stultz said at an ASCC event in Brevard, N.C. in 2010.
Stultz also worked with Congress on legislation to change how the Army Reserve would respond to natural disasters and emergencies in the United States.
His efforts paid off in 2012 when Army Reserve units from Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania were called to assist with Hurricane Sandy recover efforts in New Jersey and New York.
Throughout his career, Stultz saw opportunities to “lead from the front” – spearheading the way for the Army Reserve to evolve into the operational reserve component that it is today, while taking care of Families and establishing civilian partnerships.
“Lt. Gen. Stultz raised the bar for all transporters,” Visot said. “He is a pillar in the Army Reserve, the Transportation community, and a legacy to logisticians worldwide. He thoroughly lived what it means to be ‘Twice the Citizen! Army Strong!’”
| Date Taken: | 07.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2014 22:26 |
| Story ID: | 137225 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | ORLANDO, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 913 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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