Charles Rosado comes from a family of service.
The retired command sergeant major’s grandfather, father and uncles all served, he said. He had always considered the military growing up, and after graduating from high school, enlisted alongside his cousins.
After his first 20 years in the Army, Rosado was deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the First Cavalry Division and in what at that time was the Fourth Brigade Combat Team.
“It was very eye opening and something I’ll never forget,” Rosado said, later adding that his deployment took him to a “higher level of responsibility.”
Rosado was deployed three times to Iraq. His second deployment was during “The Surge” for 15 months from 2006 to 2007, and his last deployment from 2010 to 2011 as part of the last contingency of active duty forces.
Each deployment was very different from the last with different missions and strategies, he said.
His last deployment was a part of President Barack Obama’s Operation New Dawn where troops were withdrawn from Iraq, and that presented a lot of unknowns and professional challenges, according to Rosado.
Deployment made him grow up a lot with the additional responsibility of keeping yourself and others alive and in good well-being around you. The experience made him a better person and changed his focus, as he realized he had a larger responsibility than just himself, he said.
Rosado now serves the patient population of retirees and active service military at Dunham Army Health Clinic at the Carlisle Barracks, where as a trained medical emergency manager he has been responsible for guiding changes during the COVID-19 changes and operations at the clinic.
Rosado called himself a “blended citizen.”
“I kind of get a chance to spend time with the soldiers, and I still get to be a civilian, and so it’s been a really long transition for me because I retired from military service in 2016, and you know after 32 years of the military, you know you are a soldier,” Rosado said.
During the pandemic, Rosado said his medical emergency management training has proved invaluable. The team he is a part of works with all of the state and military installations in central Pennsylvania to help advise the commanders on how to deal with military communities in the pandemic.
Rosado has taken all of his life lessons from the service into his civilian life, especially what he learned about leadership, he said. With leadership, he said he learned about taking care of people and identifying problems within one’s organization, and how to provide your professional guidance and personal assistance.
Rosado said his family keeps him grounded and loves spending time with his grandson. His wife served as a military spouse for 26 years, and Rosado said she has been very supportive of his work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What was the toughest challenge that you faced?
“The death of my soldiers during combat operations. That’s one of those things... it’s part of the job unfortunately. You want to talk about a challenge, that is a challenge. It’s not like the movies where soldiers die and then they go to the next scene. That person has a family, and you as the leader deal with those families. You have to talk to them, and there’s just lots of things that you have to do that the public doesn’t really know about. But when you serve in a leadership role in the army and you lose somebody, you are directly involved with them. That was probably the most impactful thing. And not to make light of it, but it is a learning point. It’s a teaching point. You learn how fragile life is. And how to deal with families of these people that have lost their lives, it’s really, truly impactful... so those always stay at the forefront of my mind. You know, every year on the anniversary of the death of my soldiers I always remember.”
What did you like best about being in the military?
“I don’t want to sound like a jarhead or anything, but I love the army. I mean it was such a great experience. It was a great experience for me. That’s why I stayed so long. I stayed 31 years and six months. Who in the world stays that long? You know, I’ve met great people. You know, wonderful people throughout my career, I’ve been stationed in fantastic places… not all fantastic, but they’ve all been in good places. The job was the job and the career field I was in was great, but it really was the people.”
What was your proudest achievement?
“So I had four people that worked for me, and I did deploy to Iraq with and I helped teach, coach and mentor them. And all four of them at the same time got selected for promotion to the highest level. I had previously been their supervisor and I had moved on, but then the next promotion cycle, they all got promoted. That is... I am so proud. I’m not saying I’m not proud of that for me, but I loved it. The highest rank in the army for an enlisted person, they promoted all four at the same time and they all worked for me previously. I’m proud of them.”
Is there something you would like the public to know about being in the military?
“There is nothing like it, but I will say you know the military isn’t for everyone, but I will say that it is a rewarding experience. And everyone that comes and talks to me about the military I got to tell them the truth. I guess it’s kind of like going to college and you don’t realize you’re going to have to write all those papers and spend all those hours studying, so there’s the good side of college, and there’s the bad side about it. It’s like any job you have to go there with your eyes wide open. But I will say the benefits in the end, I always recommend military service.”
What would you say to something who is looking to join up?
“Do your homework. Investigate all your options when you go to join because there’s so many opportunities, you know, so make sure you investigate your options. And understand that you have a responsibility when you join, so just make sure you investigate all your options so you can get the best of your experience.”
story by: Eileen Pomeroy, the sentinel
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2020 17:02 |
| Story ID: | 378649 |
| Location: | CARLISLE BARRACKS, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Inspire Stories of Honor: Charles Rosado - Lessons in leadership, by Robert Martin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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