Photo By Staff Sgt. DAKOTA JORDAN | Pfc. Ismaila Barry, an air defense battle management system operator with Headquarters...... read more read more
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The Fula tribe is one of the largest ethnic groups in Western Africa with nomadic agricultural roots. Similar to how the U.S. Army has a set of values and warrior ethos, the Fula have an ancient unwritten code of conduct called the Pulaaku - it focuses on a sense of community as well as legal and spiritual principles.
Iowa Army National Guard Soldier Spc. Ismaila Barry is a descendant of the Fula tribe. His family emigrated to the U.S. from Senegal in the early 1990s. They initially settled in Brooklyn, New York, then moved throughout the country and eventually settled in the Midwest.
Barry, an air defense battle management system operator with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery (1-194th FA), 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Iowa Army National Guard, enrolled at Iowa State University to study aerospace engineering due to his interest in space exploration. It was also during that time that he enlisted in the Guard to help pay for his education.
Discipline was another reason Barry joined and that may be attributed to his time spent in the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the high school he attended in Georgia.
“I ended up really enjoying it," Barry said. “I liked the structure, I liked the camaraderie.”
Barry was initially assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, in Boone, Iowa. It was there he met Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Schminke, an unmanned aircraft operations warrant officer. Barry made an impression almost immediately.
“He came to us from basic training,” said Schminke. “He was only with us a few months and went to annual training with us. Very intelligent kid, hard worker and keeps a great attitude all the time. He knows his job very well and is not afraid to jump in there and do it.”
Barry is unique because he is the only Soldier in the state of Iowa to occupy his military occupational specialty (MOS) as an air defense battle management system operator. Because of his unique position, opportunities arose due to the scheduled deployment of 1-194th FA to U.S. Central Command later this year, so Barry volunteered to go.
“Somebody mentioned a potential mission last year that pertains to my MOS,” said Barry. “I could use my skill set and I was interested so I thought, ‘hey why not.’”
The experience gained from the scheduled deployment could advance his military career.
“We recommended that he be sent on deployment,” Schminke said. “He gets a year at running an air defense system, then we’ll recommend him to go to warrant officer candidate school.”
Barry has another uncommon trait that speaks for his outstanding intellect and discipline. He is fluent in four languages. He knows English, Fulanese, Wolof (prominent Senegal language), and French. He is also able to engage in conversational Russian but is too modest to claim it as a fifth language.
Currently, Barry has taken leave from college to support his mother and brother and is on active duty orders as operational support. In this role he works in information technology for the Mission Training Complex at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa.
“He basically put his college on hold to take care of his family,” said Schminke. “I really admire him for his dedication to his family. He’s such a nice kid. He is quiet but gets along with everybody and he has a sense of humor. His dedication to his family says a lot about him.”
Whether or not he pursues the warrant officer path, Barry intends to use the experience and benefits gained from the upcoming deployment to resume his aerospace studies at ISU upon his return.
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2020 12:31 |
| Story ID: | 372743 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Hometown: | AMES, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 749 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Iowa Soldier volunteers for deployment, embodies moral codes, by SFC William Prahl, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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