Sgt. Maj. Robert Foesch reflects on career with Oregon National Guard

Photo By John Hughel | Oregon Army National Guard Soldier Sgt. Maj. Robert E. Foesch takes next assignment at SOUTHCOM.  

OR, UNITED STATES

09.04.2020

Story by Staff Sgt. Tyler Meister 

115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

SALEM, Ore. - Another assignment is in the books for Sgt. Maj. Robert Foesch as he prepares to leave his dual role as the Land Component Command (LCC) Senior Enlisted Leader and the Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) for the Oregon National Guard (ORNG). In his next assignment, he will be one of the leaders at the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) team in Florida. As he leaves Oregon, Foesch looks back on a history of facilitating changes to develop and train enlisted members during one of the largest deployment periods of Oregon Citizen-Soldiers and Citizen-Airmen.

He will take his vast experience and knowledge, that has been cultivated throughout his 36-years in the Army, and instill the National Guard perspective to the active-duty components while supporting SOUTHCOM.

Foesch said that there are often missed opportunities between the National Guard and active-duty components, and wants to expedite a better relationship and improve organizational relationships. From experience, he knows that there is more the National Guard can do to contribute to the total operational force, with the Active Army and U.S. Army Reserve.

“I want to be the best leader I can be and inspire and motivate other service members,” he said.

Foesch said he aims to “lead by example,” and see what he can do to help advance the careers of those members he is honored to serve beside while supporting the overall SOUTHCOM mission.

“Hopefully I will be able to learn Spanish and continue my own higher education goals,” he exclaimed, describing some of his new personal aspirations for the job.

While close friends know him as Bob, he is more commonly referred to as that “loud, driven and outgoing leader,” pushing the status quo and always putting his Soldiers first. To this day - he’s not afraid to jump down on the front lines to understand and experience what the junior enlisted Soldiers are going through so he can try to improve their time in the National Guard.

“Believe it or not - I wasn’t always this outgoing,” said Foesch describing his growth in the Army. “A sergeant by the name Mike Dempsey took me under his wing many years ago when I was a young and quiet private on active duty and he told me that being quiet and shy in the Army won’t work.”

From that point, Foesch lived his career with the mind-set of ‘finding that line that shouldn’t be crossed,’ putting his toe right up to it, but never stepping over.

This demeanor would serve him well throughout his career as a Military Policeman. It all began at Fort McClellan, Alabama where he completed one-station unit training and left for his first duty assignment. Foesch said the Army has changed drastically since then, at the time his main concerns were keeping his uniform starched and boots spit-shined.

He was chosen to join a small group of MPs to venture up to Washington, D.C. for a short special assignment. While Foesch stated he enjoyed his time in D.C., the desire to remain on active duty was lost to him and he decided to leave active duty to join the Oregon Army National Guard.

Inspired by his father, a Portland Police Bureau detective, Foesch pursued a career in civil law-enforcement with the Eugene Police Department, while he drilled with an Oregon National Guard MP unit out of Tigard.

As his military career took off, he made it through the ranks up to the first sergeant as an MP, and later became the sergeant major for the Regional Training Institute in Oregon. With multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, he was selected as the command sergeant major for the 82nd Brigade Troop Command and a few years later was selected to fill his final role with the ORNG as the CSEL.

“I tried to do my best every day and made it a point to also lead by example,” he stated. “I think that sometimes many senior leaders forget where they come from and think that they are royalty. But you’re not, you’re a Soldier and you need to act like it.”

Looking back on his time in Oregon, Foesch is most proud of the success and progress he helped facilitate with Professional Military Education for Oregon’s guardsmen. He feels that getting Soldiers to school and training in order to then get promoted and stay in the guard is one of the most crucial aspects of retention.

He explained that one of the most important aspects a successful leader should have is the trust and respect of their peers, but more importantly of their Soldiers. “All leaders need to create an environment where Soldiers are comfortable to come up and talk to you about their issues so that you can fix it,” Foesch continued. “If that means helping them with physical readiness so they can attend a school or get promoted then we as leaders should be doing it.”

"We need to inspire and motivate people to stick with the Army and start commending them for doing a good job,” he said. “We are a standards-based organization so do what you got to do to stay in and allow yourself to be successful but also take the time to reward Soldiers for just doing a good job.”

Foesch feels that even though Soldiers in the National Guard do not have the same amount of time to accomplish the mission as active-duty personnel, “we step up to the plate every time we are asked and we perform very well.”

It all boils down to taking care of our Soldiers Foesch explained. “It is not easy, it’s hard but with some hard work and dedication to be there for your Soldiers they will be more prone to do good work and not want to let you down.”

As Foesch looks to the South he is proud of the work he has done here and appreciates all of the relationships he has built-in Oregon.

“Times are changing and I’ve been around a long time so my mind-set may be outdated at times but I am always impressed with how well our force is adapting to changes”, he said. “Our young Soldiers have all kinds of great ideas and potential to improve our organization.”

Foesch implores all Soldiers and Airmen to make the best of their military careers and if you’re not happy with your current unit or job, then try to find a more fitting unit, he explained. “If you see something messed up in your unit, then ask yourself this; what are you doing to fix it? Put in the work and effort to improve the organization or make things better but always be tactful and professional.”

“Every good leader should understand the role of a non-commissioned officer (NCO),” Foesch claimed. He continued to explain that regardless if you’re enlisted or officer, as a leader it is crucial to understand the role NCOs play in taking care of Soldiers and getting the mission accomplished.

“If there’s one bit of knowledge I could leave behind, as cliché as it may sound, the Army values: Just seven words on a piece of paper,” he stated, adding “If you know the values, understand what they mean and live by them then you will be successful in the Army and in your own lives outside of the military.”

As prepares to head out, he wanted to thank everyone who has helped him get to where he is now, but most importantly his family. He said it’s a tough job being in the National Guard and he commends everyone’s hard work and dedication to the service.

• Date Taken: 09.04.2020
• Date Posted: 09.30.2020 17:52
• Story ID: 379928
• Location: OR, US