Photo By Sgt. Sean Mcguire | Chief Warrant Officer 3 Toby McGhee, the officer in charge for the 4th Sustainment...... read more read more
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq— Chief Warrant Officer 3 Toby McGhee, the officer-in-charge of the property book office for the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Hopkinsville, Ky., native, has defied stigmata about age and experience during his time in the Army.
At 32 years old, he’s logged nearly 13 years in uniform, six of which were spent on the enlisted side reaching the rank of staff sergeant before becoming a warrant officer.
“My friend and I were the youngest warrants to have ever gotten selected in the quartermaster corps,” he said. “Others had the perception that I was very young and had to prove myself. I feel that I know what I’m doing and I’ve always taken pride in that.”
McGhee enlisted in 1998 at as a unit supply specialist and immediately went to airborne school after basic combat training.
“My mentality when I joined was to be independent,” said McGhee. “When I came in, I didn’t know anything about the Army. I just knew that guys wore uniforms.”
In 2003, McGhee and some friends volunteered to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He said it was a chaotic time for him because he had so much responsibility and dealings in millions of dollars of equipment.
“I was made the property book noncommissioned officer for the Army material command logistics support element,” said McGhee. “I had no officer above me. It was just me and I was responsible for requesting replacement vehicles for battle losses from Kuwait to Joint Base Balad.”
Even though it was tough, McGhee knows he was better for it.
“I had never handled things at such a high level before,” he said. “I benefited greatly from it, and it gave me a different view of logistics.”
He received a bronze star for his work during the deployment. McGhee’s mentor at the time, an ordnance officer, convinced him that the warrant corps would offer him more control over his career.
“Initially, I didn’t want to go warrant,” he said. “In fact I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, but he really sold me on the idea.”
McGhee put in his packet not thinking he’d be selected, because the Army had just recently decided to lower the selection requirement to five to seven years in service. It had previously been 10 to12 years.
“The quartermaster corps was the first to start recruiting at five to seven years,” McGhee said. “A friend and I were basically guinea pigs,”
Since becoming a warrant officer, he has deployed to Afghanistan and has been a member of the “Wrangler” brigade for the last two years.
The Wranglers are currently deployed in support of Operation New Dawn with the mission of sustaining and reposturing of forces throughout Iraq.
McGhee and his property book office maintain accountability of the unit’s property book holdings across theater. He knows the tempo in his office will speed up this summer as they help the brigade and its subordinate units close out.
“We won’t have anyone to transfer things over to when we leave,” he said. “Our job will be to put everything our units have into the system so United States Forces-Iraq can tell us what to do with it. We’ll be the last stop for units to clear out of theater.”
Even with so much responsibility, McGhee said he has total confidence in his team.
“We built a good team before we came here,” he said. “We know what needs to get done and at the end of the day, it’s all the same job.”
Looking to the future when the Wrangler team’s tour is over, McGhee wants to continue experiencing new things in the Army.
“When I was at Fort Lee, Va., for the advanced warrant officer course in 2008, I was asked to become an instructor for the basic course geared towards new warrant recruits,” he said. “So I look forward to having an opportunity to teach there.”
Even if he doesn’t get that opportunity, McGhee said he enjoys getting a variety of experiences.
“Being in a sustainment brigade has been good and has given me a different view of how the Army operates,” he said. “I just want to continue leaping around and seeking new experiences.”
McGhee figures he’s on a downhill slope toward 20 years of service, and when that day comes, he’ll evaluate whether or not he’s still enjoying his work and then think about retirement.
“Right now I’m not even thinking about it,” he said. “I don’t know what I’ll do when I get out, but I know I’ll more than likely be working.”
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2011 03:21 |
| Story ID: | 67835 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 178 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Wrangler leader proves age is just a number, by SGT Sean Mcguire, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT