Courtesy Photo | Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory W. Binford. The Kansas City native, currently serves as the...... read more read more
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Serving in the Army brings about the possibility of working for multiple leaders throughout a Soldier’s career. Despite the fact that we serve next to these leaders on a daily basis, we sometimes only scratch the surface of who they are.
Some Army leaders, such as Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Binford, have chosen to be more open about themselves to allow their Soldiers to see inside. To learn more about a leader, you need to look past their military career and into their personal lives. In the case of Binford, you would find a Kansas City Chiefs and Royals fan who loves antiques and history.
“We love to go out and find old treasures. Just those things that harken back to a time where people who were manufacturing took pride in what they did. My wife Eileen and I go out to auctions and estate sales and look for treasures, some that may need a little TLC or a little polish,” he said.
Born in Kansas City, Kan., the senior enlisted advisor for the 8th Theater Sustainment Command says he “basically grew up in the Midwest.”
“It was a very peaceful environment to be raised in. I love the country aspects of it. We were kind of suburban; we had some family members who lived in the country on farms, so we learned how to ride horses.”
Having served over 28 years in the Army, its hard to imagine the senior logistician doing anything else, but as a child there were experiences that inspired a more scientific calling from historic achievements of the time.
“I grew up in the 60s and 70s, seeing the moon landing, Buzz Aldrin, and the Apollo 11 mission. Being four years old and seeing and experiencing things like that made me sort of a nerd. Star Trek, sci-fi things got me to thinking I could be an astronaut. I guess Soldiering is an even better fit,” he said.
Making it to the most senior rank for an NCO in the Army has been largely because of his passion to mentor and take care of others.
“I am more like my mother, my father was not a part of our lives growing up. There were some tough times, but her family values of trying to hold the family together and to try to demonstrate love in the home on a daily basis, that really stuck with me,” he said.
That ingrained sense of team building and family made Binford the type of leader that always put others first. Under his leadership, programs to help military families, the community and motivate soldiers towards professional development have always been of the highest priority.
One program, Young Alaka’I, has been so successful that it will soon be adopted at the U.S Army Pacific level to strengthen the broadening opportunity program’s ability to expose joint and multi-national officers, warrant officers and NCOs to executive-level mentorship and prepare them to be the future's strategic leaders.
Although the development of Soldiers into leaders and professionals is what drives him, it is often not what the average American gets to see portrayed of their armed forces in mainstream media.
“I think that we show on TV is the gory aspect; the crucible of ground conflict. So you see a lot of the “us against them” and large masses of troops doing the impossible mission. Taking that hill or whatever it may have to be. But you don’t see the less glamorous stuff; the counseling, mentorship and leader development,” he said.
“You don’t see that genuine ‘give a darn factor’ it takes to raise the young men and women of America to try and turn them into not only the most productive Soldiers, but also the most productive citizens. You want them to enjoy their Soldier for Life journey as much as they possibly can. I’ve been blessed with every day of my career. For those like me at the payback stage of our careers, it’s important to mentor the leaders that will one day replace us,” he added.
Over the course of his career Binford has been to a lot of duty stations. This includes Germany, Japan, all across the continental United States as well as tours in Bosnia and Iraq. However, he states that the 8th TSC at Fort Shafter, Hawaii is by far his favorite assignment.
“The reason for that would be simply because I think that if you enjoy where you are, it serves as an encapsulation of everything you’ve done. This assignment, if you stay focused on how cool it is, how amazing the opportunity is, and how incredible our team is, has the culminating impact of everything I’ve done previously.”
| Date Taken: | 01.25.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2017 18:59 |
| Story ID: | 221404 |
| Location: | FORT SHAFTER, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 274 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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