BISMARCK, N.D. - Command Sgt. Maj. Harley J. Schwind, Jr. graduated from LaMoure High School, LaMoure, N.D. and enlisted in the North Dakota Army National Guard in 1981. His first assignment was as a combat engineer with Company D, 141st Engineer Battalion (Corps Wheeled). After serving in this unit for 12 years in various key leadership positions culminating as squad leader, he transferred to the North Dakota Military Academy and Engineer School, at Camp Grafton near Devils Lake, N.D. in 1993.
There Schwind served as an instructor, course manager and Branch Chief. In 1997, he was assigned to Company A, 164th Engineer Battalion (Mechanized) where he eventually served as first sergeant. In 2000, he transferred back to the North Dakota Military Academy to serve as the school’s senior instructor and assistant commandant.
In 2001, Schwind assumed the duties as Operations Sergeant for the Engineer Brigade, 34th Infantry Division. In 2004, he was assigned as Command Sergeant Major for the 164th Engineer Battalion and deployed to Iraq from 2007 until 2008.
In 2008, Schwind was assigned as the operations sergeant and later command sergeant major for the 68th Troop Command. In 2012, he was appointed as the North Dakota National Guard’s 8th State Command Sergeant Major, a position he held until May 2015. This summer, he will assume duties as the Senior Enlisted Leader (SEL) of NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
During his tenure in the North Dakota Army National Guard, Schwind served on engineer construction missions to the Republic of Panama (1989 and 1993), Republic of Honduras (1989), Republic of Korea (1998) and Federal Republic of Germany (2005).
His military education includes Reserve Component Basic and Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer courses and is a 2003 graduate of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (non-resident).
Schwind’s military awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (one Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Achievement Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (One Silver Oak Leaf Cluster), National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and is authorized the U.S. Army Combat Action Badge. He is a recipient of the American Society of Military Engineers’ Samuel D. Sturgis Medal and the order of the Bronze de Fleury Medal for his significant contributions to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Schwind is married to fellow Guard member Command Sgt. Maj. Darcy (Olson) Schwind, of Oriska, North Dakota. They reside in Mandan, North Dakota and have three children.
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2015 22:36 |
| Story ID: | 162372 |
| Location: | BISMARCK, ND, US |
| Hometown: | MANDAN, ND, US |
| Web Views: | 111 |
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