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Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Marietta, Ga June 29, 2020 – Georgia National Guardsmen come from all walks of life. A lot of them aren’t originally from Georgia. There are a few Soldiers and Airmen that join the National Guard because of where the active duty life had taken them. Currently the Georgia Guard has a plethora of full-time job opportunities for service members to pursue compared to other states and territories. Sgt. 1st Class Terrence Allen, the maintenance chief noncommissioned officer in charge with the 201st Regional Support Group took advantage of the opportunities in Georgia that he wouldn’t have gotten in the Virgin Islands.
Sgt. 1st Class Allen joined the active duty Army to serve as an Army wheeled vehicle mechanic (91B) in 2000. Before then, he recalled that the military wasn’t effectively advertised in the United States territories compared to the mainland. He and his peers also didn’t take the training programs that the grade schools provided in the V.I. very seriously.
“Growing up, we looked at the military, and it wasn’t something we were interested in,” said Allen. “It wasn’t something that was scorned against, but it was a joke.”
Allen also said that the students in the ROTC program didn’t exemplify
the strength and resilience that many Soldiers have. He later realized that those same cadets were the smart ones because they were thinking about what opportunities they could pursue outside of the island. When Allen joined the Army, he was considered a “rare breed” because many of his peers didn’t initially want to join but were inspired by his decision. His younger brother and nephew even enlisted after him.
According to Allen, more residents in the V.I. began to give greater respect to the U.S Military when the global war on terror began. Even though the V.I does have U.S. National Guardsmen, the residents don’t see as much military activity in the islands compared to the mainland.
“We don’t have any active duty bases. We don’t have any bases like Fort Hood or Ft. Leonard Wood, so you don’t have people that join in active duty and stay in the homeland. They have to move away,” said Allen.
Allen also stated that even V.I. Guardsmen must leave the island for training events such as annual weapons qualification as they all train to the same standard as the rest of Guardsmen in America.
After serving 4 years of active duty with the Army, Sgt. 1st Class Allen decided to reside in Georgia, so he wouldn’t have to keep leaving his family behind for missions. He then joined the Georgia National Guard and sought many opportunities to demonstrate what he learned during his time in active duty and to teach younger Soldiers. He also served as an overseas contractor for 5 years in Afghanistan. He earned enough respect and confidence from his leadership to be given the opportunity to work full-time at the Joint Task Force 265th Chemical Battalion and later for the 201st RSG brigade headquarters. After 19 years of service, Allen received his promotion to Sgt. 1st Class on May 22, 2020. His loyalty to his Soldiers and dedication to his progressive career served as an inspiration for his family and friends in the Virgin Islands.
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2020 11:13 |
| Story ID: | 373103 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 201st Regional Support Group PAO Photo Feature: Sgt. 1st Class Terrence Allen, by SSG Jeron Walker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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