Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Brig. Gen. Daniel Dent, outgoing commander of the Washington Army National Guard...... read more read more
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There are two things Brig. Gen. (Ret) Dan Dent can’t talk about without a smile on his face.
“If I can go back to the very beginning, I would do at least two things exactly same. I would marry my high school sweetheart all over again, if she would have me, and I would join the U.S. Army,” says Dent during his retirement speech at the Army Aviation Support Facility, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. on August 5, 2023.
For more than 30 years, these two things have been a constant in Dent’s life. He never hides the fact that his wife Julie has been his inspiration and how meeting her changed his path at a young age.
As a kid, young Daniel Dent didn’t have a direction for where he was going.
“I wasn’t a great student, didn’t work very hard at school but sports, I was pulled between two worlds,” said Dent. “My step-dad was working at a church on South Hill and we were going to that church and I remember meeting an Army officer, a major, Dennis Davis.”
Dent and Davis got to know each other, with Dent going to Davis for advice and guidance. However, the defining moment of his life came in March of 1987, when he met Julie for the first time. That first interaction didn’t go well.
“I asked her out and she turned me down,” said Dent.
As a kid, Dent says he didn’t have the best reputation. But after talking more with Davis and reflecting on where life was taking him, he knew he wanted to be better and started making changes.
“We had our first date August 14, 1987 and recently celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary,” said Dent.
After graduating high school in 1988, the couple moved up to Western Washington University. After less than a year away, they moved back to the South Hill area and went to Pierce College. He was working at a bunch of little jobs when Davis asked him if he had ever considered the Army.
“I didn’t know anything about the Army, but I think the idea resonated in my head because I saw this guy and I gravitated to the idea of who he was,” said Dent. “So I am at Pierce College, I am getting good grades and I see an ROTC poster in the hall and it said scholarship opportunities at PLU (Pacific Lutheran University).”
With Davis’ coaching, Dent applied for the scholarship and got into the program. In 1992, he commissioned as an Army officer on active duty.
“While at PLU I met so many people that I would later serve in the Guard with, Pete Hudspeth, Rob Johnson, Zara Walters,” said Dent.
For the next 10 years, the Dent family moved from Alabama to Texas to New York before returning to his final active-duty assignment at Fort Lewis.
“As my active time was coming to an end, summer of 2002, I was selected for major and was selected for CGSC and we were biding our time. But now we are back home, Julie has a really good job and our kids have a great support network. Life is really good,” said Dent. “My branch manager says after CSGS, you are going to Korea. That is when we started having the real conversations.”
That’s also when faith stepped in. Dent’s mom was working at the state’s Emergency Management Division at the time on Camp Murray and had built relationships with then Col. Mike McCaffree.
“I knew nothing about the National Guard and shame on me for not, but it wasn’t anything I had been exposed to,” said Dent. “But my mom wanted me to meet him and he was so gracious, and spoke so highly of the Guard and the mission.”
Dent decided to put in a packet for an officer position in the Washington Army National Guard in late 2002. A week or so later he had a meeting with Brig. Gen. Gorden Toney about an opening at the aviation unit. Dent’s packet ended up on the desk of then LTC Lou McSheffrey, who was the administrative officer at the aviation unit.
“McSheffrey calls me asking if I would come in for an interview,” said Dent.
After an interview with the unit, he was offered a job with the Washington Army National Guard, providing him and his family stability.
“I have said this a million times, the Army changed my life. Joining the Washington Army National Guard gave me a great one,” said Dent.
The next nine years, Dent would build his career in the aviation community, serving in multiple roles including commanding 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation from May 2010 to June 2012. He deployed overseas in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and during multiple domestic operations including a memorable activation to Louisiana in support of the Hurricane Katrina response mission.
“I hesitate to say that Katrina was an awarding experience, because of the loss of life, but it taught me so much, the selflessness, the bond that everyone had,” said Dent. “Where else but in the military would a unit from eastern Washington come to New Orleans and just jump into helping people they have never met.”
In June 2012, Dent was assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters staff, a position he admits he wasn’t too excited about.
“I met with General Daugherty and he says he wants me to work in the J3, and over the course of a few conversations he said he wanted me to focus on this joint response to a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, all things I wasn’t super interested in,” said Dent. “I thought this is where my career ended, but I trusted him and he believed it would be a good opportunity.”
After meeting with Brig. Gen. Paul Gruver, Dent believed they needed to build up the team and bring in talent and have a unified message in order for this to happen. Under Dent’s direction, the Washington National Guard conducted Evergreen Ember in 2013 and prepared the staff for Cascadia Rising 2016.
“The foundation of that exercise was all laid by Clay Braun, he was the brains behind the Cascadia Rising exercise,” said Dent.
That joint work helped lay the foundation for where Dent was going in the future. He was named the director of Army Operations in September 2014, and took command of 96th Troop Command in May 2015. He credits this time with giving him the leaders that would help shape his soldier first beliefs.
“Abby West, she taught me so much about how to help soldiers, she knew how to connect with soldiers and get information from them,” said Dent. “I loved my time with the Troop Command, and the people there, it was a rewarding experience.”
In April 2017, Dent was moved to the Army Chief of Staff position working with Brig. Gen. Wallace Turner, the assistant adjutant general – Army. It was a position that began to prepare him for his next and final position. In November 2019, Dent was promoted to Brig. Gen. and took command of the Washington Army National Guard.
“I never thought I was going to have a career past LTC and Battalion command. I never thought anything beyond that,” said Dent. “I never had a plan, but it was luck and time, and the relationships I built.”
Under his guidance, Dent implemented consistent priorities, mottos, rebuilt the esprit de corps’ as well as created the tenants of the Washington Army National Guard.
“General Dent truly transformed the Washington Army National Guard over the last few years,” said Brig. Gen. Paul Sellars, new commander of the Washington National Guard. “I was his chief of staff and fully bought into his vision.”
On August 5, 2023, Dent passed the guidon to Sellars, marking the end of an amazing career, one that would not have been possible without the right inspiration.
“Many of you have heard it before, the defining moment of my life started with Julie,” said Dent. “She is the toughest, most resilient, most selfless person I have ever known, a shining example for our daughters and the absolute reason that my service to our state and nation could have ever happened.”
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2023 17:09 |
| Story ID: | 450968 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 447 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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