Photo By Wayne Hall | Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew Campbell, who most recently served as the Pennsylvania Army...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew Campbell, who most recently served as the Pennsylvania Army National Guard command sergeant major, retired recently after 33 years of service.
Campbell, who had served as the PAARNG CSM since July 2021, was honored July 12 at a ceremony at Fort Indiantown Gap. The decision to retire was bittersweet, he said.
“I had the advantage of making that decision a year out,” Campbell said. “I was still able to work and be effective for the better part of eight months, and as the time wore on up to now, I’m at peace with my decision.”
A Spring Valley, Illinois, native, Campbell enlisted into the active-duty Army in 1992. Following initial entry training, he served in Korea with the 19th Support Command as a single channel radio operator.
That was followed by an assignment with the 1111th Signal Battalion at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, where he served as an HF radio operator and an Emergency Actions Cell member.
Campbell was released from active duty on May 12, 1996, and joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard on May 13, 1996. His first assignment was in the 28th Division Support Command as a radio operator/maintainer.
Over the next 29 years, Campbell served in a variety of roles in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, including senior radio operator, equipment receiving/parts sergeant and material management noncommissioned officer in the 28th DISCOM; defense reutilization management NCO and first sergeant in the 213th Area Support Group; sergeant major in the Intelligence and Sustainment Co., G4, 28th Infantry Division; command sergeant major of the 228th Brigade Support Battalion; and 213th Regional Support Group command sergeant major.
Campbell was selected to serve as the Pennsylvania Army National Guard command sergeant major, which he began on July 1, 2021. In this position he is the principal advisor to the deputy adjutant general-Army and staff on matters pertaining to the enlisted Soldiers of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
“I enjoyed it all,” Campbell said. “What I enjoyed the most was working with and mentoring Soldiers. I’ve enjoyed every position I had, truth be told.”
Maj. Gen. Laura McHugh, deputy adjutant general-Army, said at Campbell’s retirement ceremony that when Campbell walks into a room, the room lights up.
“When he walks into a room, it’s the young Soldiers who gravitate toward him,” McHugh said. “He has this natural, uncanny ability to build trust in people, myself included.”
Outside of the National Guard, Campbell has worked as a Department of Defense civilian employee at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
Campbell said when he joined the Army in 1992 he didn’t really have plans to stay in for 33 years, and never imagined he would hold a position like the one he’s from which he's retiring.
“I kind of joined blindly,” Campbell said. “I was looking for money for school, so I hadn’t given it much thought, but truthfully, I couldn’t see myself spending 33 years of my life in the Army, but I wouldn’t trade a minute.”
Campbell currently resides in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, with his wife Natalie. They have three adult children.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2025 09:06 |
| Story ID: | 542800 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Hometown: | SPRING VALLEY, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | WAYNESBORO, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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