Photo By John Hughel | Oregon Army National Guard Col. Russell Gibson, 82nd Troop Command Brigade Commander...... read more read more
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HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. – As he raised his right hand to take the oath of enlistment, Oregon Army National Guard Sergeant Dominic Kotz began a new and unconventional path in his military career. With a confident smile and a freshly pressed uniform embracing a new chevron, he repeated the pledge with an invigorated sense of pride.
Repeating each stanza given by the presiding officer, Col. Russell Gibson, 82nd Troop Command Brigade Commander, Kotz reaffirmed his new role in the Oregon National Guard, leaving behind his rank as lieutenant colonel and continuing his service as an enlisted soldier.
With a firm handshake of congratulations from Gibson and applause from those attending the ceremony on August 3, 2025, Kotz wasted no time reading the Army NCO Creed to a room full of his peers, held at the 82nd Brigade Conference at the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Camp Withycombe.
“No one is more professional than I. I am a Non-Commissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Non-Commissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time-honored corps, which is known as ‘The Backbone of the Army,’” Kotz recited.
And thus began the next chapter in Sergeant Dominic Kotz's Army career.
“This isn’t about just wanting to be in uniform, Gibson said, “When you say ‘connected, competent, and committed,’ can you say committed any louder than this!”
Gibson's reference to this phrase of “being connected, being competent, and being committed” is the touchstone set forth by Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold, The Adjutant General for the Oregon National Guard. They are priorities that are woven into every aspect of service, and as Gronewold has stated, “are at the very core of who you ought to be, who you can be, and who you will be.”
“I thoroughly enjoy putting on the uniform, I love to serve, and it keeps me accountable to myself, Kotz said following the enlistment ceremony. “It keeps me connected to the soldiers, but where I have seen the training from a manager's perspective, I will now see the training from a soldier's lens.”
Kotz joined the Oregon National Guard in 1995 after initially enlisting in the active duty Army in 1992 and received his commission through Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, in 1997. He served for the next twelve years with the Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, including a deployment with the unit in 2004 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as the Alpha company commander.
His leadership skills have been developed through a variety of positions, including roles as a Federal Technician and a professor of Military Science at Eastern Oregon University. He then became the S-1 for the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion, handling training, personnel qualification, evaluations, and administrative matters.
This experience led him to work at the USPFO for several years before becoming the Army Chief of Staff. Up to 2021, he held other leadership roles within the Oregon Army National Guard, including commanding the 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry Regiment for three years and serving as Deputy Joint Chief of Staff (Joint Force Headquarters). He also deployed to Ukraine with the 81st Brigade in 2021.
“I was part of the JMTGU (Joint Military Training Group Ukraine), training and mentoring service members outside of Lviv,” he said. “I came out of the country in December of 2021, right before the war kicked off a few months later in February [2022].”
Approaching his Mandatory Removal Date of August 31, 2025, Kotz still felt he could contribute to the military in another role. When he first approached his leadership team about serving as an enlisted member, some of them thought he was kidding.
“Most everybody that was either against it, for it, or made fun of it has come around to the fact that, ‘Hey, good for you,’ type of sentiment,” Kotz said, recalling how his peers reacted. “In this last chapter of my career, I will be proving to myself that I was asking soldiers to do certain things. Now, as a soldier myself, you will never hear me say, ‘When I was a commander, I did…,’” Kotz said. “That’s a different career. I am now an E-5 [Enlisted pay rate], and I obey the orders of my officers.”
As part of this transition, Kotz also had to resign as a Federal Technician and will take on a new full-time role as a State of Oregon employee, working as a site training manager at Camp Rilea.
When wearing the uniform, Kotz is preparing himself to rejoin the team with the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment. “I will fully embrace that as an M-Day soldier. You know, as an E-5, you are a team leader, as an E-6, you're a squad leader,” he said. “In the tank world, that would make me a gunner, so whatever position they assign me, that’s the one I’ll embrace.”
The unit will be in transition over the next several years as the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment will leave the 116th Armored Brigade Combat Team and become an infantry battalion, and Kotz said he is ready to be part of that change.
“I’ll be there to serve, and my only goal now is to be the best NCO that I can be.”
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2025 20:28 |
| Story ID: | 544963 |
| Location: | HAPPY VALLEY, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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