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    CSM Henney Hodgkins: Soldier First, Leader Always

    CSM Henney Hodgkins: Soldier First, Leader Always

    Photo By Marshall Mason | Command Sgt. Major Henney Hodgkins, senior enlisted advisor, 20th Chemical Biological...... read more read more

    ABERDEEN, MD, UNITED STATES

    06.25.2021

    Story by Marshall Mason 

    20th CBRNE Command

    ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – It’s hard to imagine a more suitable day for an outdoor ceremony. It was 80 degrees, sunny, with a slight breeze. There were clear blue skies with the occasional puffy white cloud floating gently overhead. Flags and company guidons flapped in the wind, as over 100 Soldiers stood stoically in formation, patiently awaiting the next command.

    The three months of planning, coordinating and rehearsing were mere window dressing in comparison to the nearly 30 years of active duty service that paved the way for this moment. Inevitably, every Soldier will have their moment, but not every Soldier will do so as a command sergeant major.

    Command Sgt. Major Henney Hodgkins, former senior enlisted advisor, 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, servant leader and friend, begins a new chapter in her life after nearly three decades of service in the U.S. Army. This new chapter is scheduled to begin directly following a change of responsibility ceremony, held June 17, at Fanshaw Field on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

    Hodgkins was born in Monrovia, Liberia, in West Africa. Hodgkins is the middle child of nine children had by her parents. Her earliest memories of this time in her life was chasing after her older siblings.

    “I remember being a tomboy and chasing after my older brothers and sisters,” said Hodgkins. “I wanted to do whatever they did. If they climbed a tree, I wanted to climb a tree. If they played soccer, I wanted to play soccer.”

    Growing up in a large family was truly a blessing according to Hodgkins. The African community where she grew up produced a family-like environment in which the members of the community cared and provided for each other. Hodgkins believes there may be a direct correlation between her African upbringing and what she described as a similar family-like environment she would eventually find in the U.S. Army.

    Hodgkins came to America when she was 13 years-old and she and her family lived in Oxon Hill, Maryland. They would later move to Arlington, Virginia, where Hodgkins attended Wakefield High School.

    Hodgkins excelled in academics and her plan was to study medicine and become a doctor, but at the time her family did not have provisions for her college education, so she found other means.

    “The plan was to join the Army, get into the medical field and get college tuition for follow-on grad school,” Hodgkins said. “Of course, when I met with my recruiter, I was informed the military occupation I desired in the medical community was unavailable. My recruiter then sold me on all the cool ‘gee-wiz’ stuff happening in the Chemical Corps.”

    In June 1992, Hodgkins met with the recruiter and by August she had signed on the dotted line. She would go on to attend basic combat training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, in November of the same year. Fort McClellan was eventually closed by the Base Realignment and Closure commission in 1999.

    Admittedly, Hodgkins did not exactly set the world on fire during basic combat training. Reginald Howze, logistics training manager, Leidos Engineering Company and former drill sergeant recalls, then, Private Hodgkins’ time at Fort McClellan.

    “I remember she struggled a bit with rifle marksmanship, so we had to do some extra work, but I cannot even consider it a slight, because no one from that iteration of new Soldiers ever achieved what she was able to achieve in her career,” said Howze.

    A year after being assigned to her first unit with the 51st Chemical Company and later the 87th Chemical Company in Fort Polk, Louisiana, Hodgkins gave birth to her daughter, Nicole. The arrival of baby Nicole created one of the major turning points in Hodgkin’s career.

    Hodgkins describes herself as a very independent woman, and she wanted to prove a single mother in the Army could accomplish her dreams.

    Motherhood as a single parent might be one of the more difficult undertakings in life. Motherhood as a single parent in the U.S. Army is something different altogether.

    Balancing motherhood, a military career and her own individual needs and goals produced a multitude of challenges and the need for personal sacrifices, Hodgkins said. Looking back at it now, Hodgkins said she is very proud of herself.

    “I was not going to become a statistic,” said Hodgkins. “I learned that I had to be strong and I had to do some self-reflection to determine what was important. My daughter is my greatest achievement, so caring for her became my driving force.”

    With her priorities firmly in order, her sheer determination, help from her family and mentors powered her ascension through the enlisted ranks, and Hodgkins’ Army career began to take shape.

    Her military education includes all levels of the Noncommissioned Officers Education System, the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (Class 59), culminating with the Nominative Leader Course.

    She is a graduate of the Battle Staff Course, First Sergeants Course, U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Leader Course, U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School, Technical Escort, Airborne School, Master Fitness and various other leadership and CBRN courses stateside and abroad.

    She also holds a Master's Degree in Human Resource Development and Management and Leadership from Webster University.

    Hodgkins’ list of Army and personal achievements is long, but her focus on achieving has always been a means to care for her family, her Soldiers and the Army.

    “Command Sergeant Major Hodgkins is the quintessential servant leader, who always puts people first,” said Brig. Gen. Antonio Munera, commanding general, 20th CBRNE Command. “She was putting people first before it was a hashtag. She truly will give the shirt off her back and the boots off her feet to help a young Soldier and their family.”

    Hodgkins isn’t exactly sure if or when leadership became a focus, but she did realize the impact she was having on her Soldiers during a deployment.

    In 2004, Hodgkins was assigned to the 87th Chemical Company, out of Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the unit deployed to Iraq as a part of the 75th Exploitation Task Force. The company’s mission was to provide decontamination support, but their parent unit, 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment, changed their mission into an escorting role. This required the CBRN Soldiers in the company to mount gun trucks and provide force protection and security support for convoys. With the change of mission, Hodgkins’ had to train her Soldiers on various weapons and vehicle platforms

    On one excruciatingly hot day in Iraq, the unit returned to base after a convoy mission. As Soldiers executed post mission recovery, Hodgkins heard laughing, cheering and a party-like atmosphere. Out of pure curiosity, she approached the Soldiers where weapons cleaning and equipment inspections were being conducted.

    “I was intrigued watching all this excitement and motivation coming from these 74 deltas,” said Hodgkins. “So I asked them, what’s the difference between the mission you were trained to do prior to deployment and the mission we’re doing now?”

    “Sergeant, you taught us how to survive, shoot, move and communicate, not as 74 deltas, but as Soldiers and that mastery of our fundamentals is paramount,” the Soldiers said. “That’s what we are doing out here.”

    The Soldiers response had a profound effect on Hodgkins, but the Soldiers who worked for her weren’t the only ones to notice her leadership skills.

    Major Gen. Donna W. Martin, U.S. Army Provost Marshal General, served with Hodgkins at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Hodgkins served as Martin’s interim command sergeant major, while Martin was the commanding general for the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence.

    “We were able to serve together daily,” said Martin. “I have never been so inspired by a senior noncommissioned officer than I was by her. She is a Soldier’s sergeant major.”

    The night before Hodgkins’ change of responsibility ceremony, 60 of her coworkers, Soldiers and friends gathered together to throw her a going-away party. She was showered with many gifts. Among those gifts were nearly a dozen books about leadership.

    Some people might think giving books about leadership to such a distinguished leader is a bit odd, but Hodgkins actually requested them.

    The next day, twenty minutes before the change of responsibility ceremony was scheduled to begin, Hodgkins called nine Soldiers names and asked them to line up in front of the entire formation.

    The nine Soldiers quickly moved up to the front of the formation and Hodgkins presented each Soldier with one of the books she received the night before.

    “I gave these junior Soldiers books about leadership not only to help them, but to also have their noncommissioned officers execute research on leadership and motivation,” said Hodgkins. “The next generation of leaders deserve for us to ‘pay it forward’ and continue our efforts to mentor.”

    Command Sgt. Major Henney Hodgkins, the first female senior enlisted advisor for the 20th CBRNE Command, servant leader and friend, is set to begin a new chapter in her life after nearly three decades of service in the U.S. Army.

    “I am ready,” said Hodgkins. “It’s time for the next generation of leaders.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 06.25.2021
    Date Posted: 06.25.2021 14:22
    Story ID: 399746
    Location: ABERDEEN, MD, US

    Web Views: 476
    Downloads: 0

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