FORT KNOX, Ky. – It seems especially fitting that a retiring soldier started and ended his career at Fort Knox. After all, the military post was named after him.
Or so he jokes.
Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Knox has heard it all while he was stationed here over the last four years. The ribbing actually started 20 years ago when he attended Basic Training here. During his final Army assignment at Fort Knox, he hears it still.
The 43-year-old Knox retired Friday in a ceremony at the U.S. Army Recruiting Command headquarters. As a personnel administration specialist, he has spent the last three years overseeing personnel actions for some 10,000 recruiters.
“Everywhere I go, at the candy machine, the Commissary or PX – people see my nametag and look up at me,” Knox said.
Then he gets barraged with comments and questions. He takes it in stride and jokes that he is related to the post’s namesake. “He was my great-grandfather,” is a standard comeback.
While Knox admits the comments get old for him, he always tries to answer with a smile. “They think they’re being original, and it gives them a chuckle.”
Knox said he never did any serious research to see whether he has any family ties to Maj. Gen. Henry Knox, the revolutionary war general for whom the post was named. “But maybe I should,” he said. “Seeing as we have that gold depository here.”
Knox followed his brother’s footsteps when he left his Ann Arbor, Mich., home to join the Army. He intended on serving four years, but he grew to like his job handling personnel actions. He finished his education in the Army, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources. With the Human Resources Command now located at Fort Knox, the Elizabethtown resident hopes to find a civilian job and remain in the area.
Over his 20-year career, Knox has been stationed at Fort Monmouth, N.J., Bamberg, Germany, Fort Jackson, S.C., Kuwait, Fort Benning, Ga., Korea and Fort Polk, La. He also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
USAREC Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Moore said Knox’s diverse career showed he wasn’t afraid to take tough assignments. “Sergeant Knox is a mover and shaker,” Moore said. “He is a dedicated non-commissioned officer and a forward thinker.”
After 20 years and 15 days in the Army, waking up as a civilian is something Knox said he has been reflecting on lately. “I have been thinking over the last few days how hard it’s going to be to not put on that uniform. I take a lot of pride in the uniform,” Knox said. But without the Army nametag, he thinks there may be one small advantage. “I will be able to live in anonymity.”
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2010 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 53713 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 211 |
| Downloads: | 122 |
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