JMC welcomes new senior enlisted advisor to Army transformation effort

Photo By Jonathan Koester | Command Sgt. Maj. Will Langes sits with his wife, Command Sgt. Maj. Jennifer Langes, during Will Langes' assumption of responsibility ceremony in September at the U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command. (Photo by Cpt. Jonathan Ritch)  

UNITED STATES

10.30.2023

Story by Jonathan Koester 

Joint Modernization Command

After spending the past six years serving two tactical brigades in the Pacific Northwest, Command Sgt. Maj. Will Langes is happy to feel the warm sunshine of El Paso and to be the senior enlisted advisor for a unit focused on the future of the Army.

Langes, who in late September became the senior enlisted advisor for the U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command on Fort Bliss, Texas, said he is excited to be in a unit focused on delivering the Army of 2030 and designing the Army of 2040. But a focus on the future isn’t the only reason he’s happy to be back at Fort Bliss. Topping that list is being reunited with his wife, Jennifer, who has been at Fort Bliss for a year serving as a battalion command sergeant major.

“One of the things Jennifer and I absolutely love about El Paso is the food,” Langes said. “And coming from the Pacific Northwest, we definitely love the sunshine here. And we love the people. It’s just one big community, and everyone’s friendly.”

In Langes, JMC is getting a leader who really puts the “senior” in senior enlisted advisor. Not only is he a proud grandfather, but come December he will have been a sergeant major in the Army for 11 years. He plans to put that experience to good use telling the JMC story.

“This gives me the opportunity to tell the Army Futures Command and JMC story to senior leaders, and more importantly it gives me the opportunity to talk to the Soldiers who will eventually be using all of the stuff we’re experimenting with,” Langes said.

Langes grew up on a farm in southwest Georgia. He said all that time around heavy machinery on the farm was what led him to select armor crewman as his military occupational specialty when he joined the Army.

“I was a ‘four years and done’ guy when I enlisted,” Langes said. “But when it came time to re-enlist, I realized, this Army thing is really not that hard, and I’m actually enjoying it. The Army allowed me to start seeing parts of the world that I would have never seen. But it’s the people, the Soldiers and their families that inspire me to continue to do what I do. 20 years later, I still truly enjoy getting up Monday through Friday and coming to work.”

When not at work, Langes can usually be found working out or playing Call of Duty on Xbox. He and his wife both own Harley-Davidson motorcycles and enjoy riding around the El Paso area.

JMC is proud to welcome Command Sgt. Maj. Langes to the Army Modernization Enterprise. We look forward to his advice and guidance as we plan and execute Army transformation experiments, including Joint Warfighting Assessments and the coming Project Convergence Capstone 4 experiment.

• Date Taken: 10.30.2023
• Date Posted: 10.30.2023 12:30
• Story ID: 456781
• Location: US