Photo By Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton | Col. Shawn Nokes, Commander of the 129th Regiment (Regional Training Institute)...... read more read more
Subscribe
Command Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Genisio of Orion started his career in the Illinois Army National Guard as an “impressively bad” light-wheeled vehicle mechanic, but 30 years later he retired as a top-ranked noncommissioned officer (NCO), Commandant of the 129th Regiment (Regional Training Institute), and with the Legion of Merit and a Master Infantry Combat Badge affixed to his uniform.
Genisio, a Moline Police Department lieutenant in his civilian life, joined the Illinois Army National Guard in 1995 as a mechanic in the 135th Chemical Company. “After three years, I realized that I was a terrible mechanic. Like, impressively bad and wanted something more,” Genisio said during his April 26 retirement ceremony at the Illinois Military Academy on Camp Lincoln in Springfield.
So, he decided to enlist in the active Army but asked for a new military job. He told the Army recruiter “I wanted to do something as far away from an Army vehicle as I could. That recruiter took my request seriously, and I enlisted in the Army as an Airborne Infantryman.”
He went through Army Basic Training a second time before going through the Infantry School at Fort Benning. After completing Airborne School, he was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment at Fort Kobbe, Panama. There he completed Air Assault School and went through the Army’s Jungle Operation Training Center. In 1999 he joined the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He deployed to Kosovo in 1999 and then to Egypt in 2000.
In 2001 he returned to the Illinois Army National Guard, this time as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Specialist with the 135th Chemical Co. In 2003 he deployed to Kuwait as a CBRN NCO prior to and during the invasion of Iraq. From January 2005 to June 2006, he deployed to Iraq as a Team Leader with Co. B, 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment. While he was not happy about deploying again after only 18 months, “this deployment was one of the best deployments I ever had. We had a clear mission, great leadership, and everything we needed to succeed,” he said. “It’s where I really learned what leadership was about – and how important it is to earn the trust of your Soldiers. As a young sergeant, I witnessed outstanding leadership at the squad, platoon, company, and battalion levels. I grew up a lot on that deployment, and the actual weight of being a leader hit me.”
After the deployment, he returned to the Galesburg-based 444th Chemical Co. The unit served as the search and extraction element for the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Force Response Package (CERFP) mission, working alongside civilian firefighters and other emergency responders. When Genisio was first sergeant, “the unit was motivated, and there wasn’t anything we couldn’t do.”
Genisio would rise from an inept mechanic to the command sergeant major of the 44th Chemical Battalion. He served as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Illinois CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package until he took responsibility for the 129th Regiment (RTI) in April 2023 serving as the Command Sergeant Major and Commandant of the 129th until his retirement. Just prior to his retirement ceremony, he relinquished responsibility of the 129th to Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Carroll, the former Command Sergeant Major of the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.
Along with the Legion of Merit, Genisio’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, six Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, and an Air Force Achievement Medal. He holds two Combat Infantryman Badges, the Combat Action Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Airborne Badge, two Drivers and Mechanic Badges, and the Expert Infantryman Badge. During his retirement ceremony, he and the 129th Regiment’s Maj. Jared Dudley received the Master Combat Infantry Badge, denoting they are both expert Infantry Soldiers who have engaged the enemy in combat.
Despite his many awards and decorations, unlike his mother, Barb Genisio, Command Sgt. Maj. Genisio has never received a command coin from a general. Barb Genisio received a command coin from The Adjutant General and Commander of the Illinois National Guard – a two-star general – when she was the Family Readiness Group leader for the 444th Chemical Company while her son was the first sergeant of the unit. Barb Genisio was in the FRG for a decade and its leader for five years.
Col. Shawn Nokes, the Commander of the 129th Regiment (RTI), recognized Command Sgt. Maj. Genisio’s father, Bob Genisio, for his Navy service as a diesel mechanic aboard a destroyer during the Vietnam War. The elder Genisio was presumably a better mechanic than his son. Nokes also thanked Command Sgt. Maj. Genisio’s spouse, Nicole, and their two children, Hunter and Ava, for supporting the command sergeant major through his decades of military service.
Nokes also presented Command Sgt. Maj. Genisio with his command coin during his retirement ceremony and told him “at least you (now) have a colonel coin and you officially earned it.”
The retirement ceremony was good-humored. For example, Nokes teased the command sergeant major about his fear of heights – despite a history of jumping out of both airplanes and helicopters – and the master of ceremonies, Maj. Dudley, referenced the command sergeant major’s penchant for 1990s West Coast hip hop.
However, the colonel became serious when talking about the service of his command sergeant major, and friend. “Command sergeant major, you did it the right way – always,” Nokes said. “You are beyond humble about all your accomplishments and never take credit for anything you did. You were always about the team, and you were extremely effective building relationships inside and outside the chain of command.”
“Jon, thank you for treating me like a brother from day one,” Nokes added. “Thank you for all your years of service. The Army just got weaker today because you’re not in it anymore. However, your legacy will live on in all of us. The greatest legacy anyone can leave is to positively impact the lives of others. You have done just that.”
Genisio said he will miss watching those he served with develop into future leaders. “Privates I had as a squad leader are now first sergeants leading companies. Platoon leaders, who I had when I was a platoon sergeant, are now battalion commanders. Seeing them step into those leadership roles has been the most rewarding part of my career.”
He encouraged the NCOs to take challenging assignments in line units and develop the relationships between NCOs and commissioned officers. “Take promotions that give you opportunities to grow. The relationship between the NCO and the officer is the foundation of every unit in the Army.”
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2025 18:45 |
| Story ID: | 496638 |
| Location: | SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | MOLINE, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | ORION, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MOLINE POLICE LIEUTENANT AND COMBAT VETERAN RETIRES FROM THE ILLINOIS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD WITH TOP ENLISTED RANK, OVER 30 YEARS OF SERVICE, by LTC Bradford Leighton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
