The South Carolina National Guard: A Family that serves

Photo By Spc. Flonasia Neals | U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Barbara Moore, who served as the senior noncommissioned officer in charge of the human resource department for the South Carolina National Guard Joint Force Headquarters out of Columbia, South Carolina prior to her retirement, and her son, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Carten Lemont Moze, who currently serves as the senior cyber operations noncommissioned officer for the South Carolina National Guard, 125th Cyber Protection Battalion out of Eastover, South Carolina, are one of the stories of families serving together in the South Carolina National Guard after 9/11. (Courtesy photo)  

COLUMBIA, SC, UNITED STATES

09.15.2021

Story by Spc. Flonasia Neals 

South Carolina National Guard

COLUMBIA, S.C- Twenty years have passed since September 11, 2001 and the South Carolina National Guard has had many families throughout the years serve within its ranks. The past 20 years have brought the unique opportunity for some parents and children to serve together, with multiple generations supporting the same conflicts in defense of the nation.

Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Barbara Moore, who served as the senior noncommissioned officer in charge of the human resource department for the South Carolina National Guard Joint Force Headquarters out of Columbia, South Carolina, and her son U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Carten Lemont Moze, who currently serves as the senior cyber operations noncommissioned officer for the South Carolina National Guard, 125th Cyber Protection Battalion out of Eastover, South Carolina, are one of the stories of families serving together in the South Carolina National Guard after 9/11.

In 1981, Moore joined the South Carolina National Guard. She said, "I made a decision, it was nine of us growing up, and with a huge family, I always saw my mom going through so much. [My mom] struggled with many things working and taking care of nine kids. I always wanted to do something different, and I said I was going to join the military."

Seeing strong women within her community and wanting to make a difference led Moore to become a Soldier. Moore started her journey as a private at Fort Gordon, Georgia. She completed her basic training, which led her to Fort Jackson, South Carolina to complete her advanced individual training as a legal clerk. From there, Moore's unwavering dedication to the service, coupled with her outstanding work ethic, helped Moore rise in rank.

With many of Moore's colleagues completing their enlistment and deciding to depart from the National Guard, Moore knew she wanted to continue to impact others. After the events that led to 9/11, Moore knew she was serving when her community needed her the most.

At the time of 9/11, Moore worked within the South Carolina National Guard headquarters building in Columbia. Moore knew her son, Moze, was in the process of joining, and that bothered Moore as a mother.

"[September 11] was very impactful because I knew my son was joining. I didn't know if he was going to join and then be sent away immediately. I didn't know what was going to happen. But I knew he was joining and it bothered me, but also gave me pleasure that this is a time that we get to be a Soldier. This is the time that we get to put our uniform on and stand proud," said Moore.

In November 2001, Moze joined the South Carolina National Guard after watching his mother serve.

"My whole memory of [Moore] has been in the National Guard," said Moze. "I look up to my mom a lot. I would say I'm probably following in her footsteps. I think she set a good example of being a Soldier, and I want to do the same thing...I think after 9/11 it was more important to do my part. September 11 happening didn't influence whether or not I was going to [join] or not. It was always something that I was going to do...The fact that a catastrophic event happened right before I signed up had no bearing on me having reservations about [joining]. It made me want to be a Soldier that much more."

Growing up watching his mother's impact on the South Carolina National Guard helped Moze adjust to the lifestyle as he became a Soldier. Those same values and ethics he saw within his mother helped carry Moze through his deployment to Afghanistan with the 228th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade in 2004-2005.

On the day Moore found out her son was getting deployed as part of the continued aftermath of 9/11, it was as if time stood still.

"It was a time where I was in many pieces, and I didn't want my son to go. I wanted him to serve, but I didn't want him to go,” said Moore.

Then, on the day Moze found out his mother was deploying to Afghanistan with the 218th Heavy Separate Brigade in 2007-2008, time stood still for him.

"Watching her go through everything that I went through. There was some satisfaction in knowing I could give her some pointers and make her deployment easier than mine was. But at the same time, it was difficult having my mom leave. I had to be her support and run the family. She was a single mother, and I have a younger sister, so I stepped into her role when she deployed, and in essence, we kind of reversed roles. I became her support channel the same way she was for me when I was overseas," said Moze.

Although the duo never directly worked together in the South Carolina National Guard, they each use their service to support each other.

"She's been 40 years in the National Guard...and she still has me to coach and mentor along the way. It just makes me happy to be a part of it, happy to be a part of the Guard and hopefully one day have as much of an imprint as she has had and her career," said Moze.

"To see that I have retired and he [saw] me staying in through tough times, and all those sad times and the good times he saw as he grew with me in my shoes made his shoes a little bit better. I think he will continue to do well, and at the end of his journey, he will get the same thing. I am very proud of what he has done," said Moore.

The South Carolina National Guard provides individuals with a sense of pride and purpose with their service.

"If I would not have joined the military, I have no clue what my life would've been. I got a lot out of the military. I got mentorship, I got family, I got friends, I got great training, and I got to see the world. All of that comes back to the military, to the South Carolina National Guard. None of that would have been possible if I would have bailed out because I got too tired or problems came along. I stayed in because I was determined to be a winner. And I was going to finish what I started," said Moore.

The South Carolina National Guard is a community-based organization that focuses on serving the citizens of South Carolina in the state role, as well as mobilizing in defense of the nation in the federal role.

• Date Taken: 09.15.2021
• Date Posted: 09.16.2021 08:58
• Story ID: 405347
• Location: COLUMBIA, SC, US