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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — When Command Sgt. Maj. Jason P. Towns first arrived in Baumholder in 1998, he was a young private from Texas who had never seen snow. He stepped off the bus, saw the wintry landscape and wondered, “Where in the world am I?”
More than two decades later, Towns returned to that same installation in 2023 as the senior enlisted adviser for the 16th Sustainment Brigade. On Dec. 5, he formally relinquished responsibility, closing a chapter that brought his career full circle at a place Soldiers have long called “The Rock.”
“When I got here the first time, I didn’t even really know where Baumholder was,” Towns recalled with a laugh. “I asked where we were going, and an old drill sergeant pointed out the window and said, ‘You see that dark spot in the clouds? That’s Baumholder. That’s The Rock.’”
Baumholder was Towns’ first duty station, where he served from 1998 to 2001 with the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. It was also where he first questioned whether the Army was right for him.
Returning to Germany decades later, Towns said his appreciation for the assignment had grown, shaped by the experience and perspective he did not yet have as a young Soldier.
“I honestly thought my first unit might be my last,” Towns said. “It wasn’t what I thought the Army was going to be.”
He had joined during the “Be All You Can Be” era and expected something closer to recruiting commercials.
Instead, he faced frequent field training and long exercise rotations. He also struggled to adjust to his military occupational specialty as a unit supply specialist, a role chosen on family advice.
“I was going to be infantry, but I let my uncle talk me into going supply,” Towns said. “It didn’t take long to realize it wasn’t what I thought.”
Two moments changed his trajectory. The first was advice from his company's executive officer.
“He told me not to let my first assignment decide whether I stayed in or got out,” Towns said. “He told me to go see something different.”
The second came during a visit to a dining facility, where he noticed Soldiers from the Ranger Regiment.
“There was a specialist with a Ranger tab on his cap and a staff sergeant with a scuba badge,” Towns said. “I remember thinking, ‘If a cook can do that, then I’m in the wrong unit.’”
The encounter pushed Towns to pursue an assignment with the Ranger Regiment, where he would spend 17 years. The Regiment shaped Towns' leadership philosophy for the rest of his career.
When asked why he stayed in the Army long enough to serve as a brigade command sergeant major, Towns gave a simple answer.
“I don’t know what it’s like to quit,” he said.
Over time, he explained, military service became about people rather than positions.
“You fall in love with what you do,” he said. “It becomes more than a job. It becomes about taking care of people and developing leaders.”
He credits much of that perspective to mentors from the Ranger Regiment, particularly his former platoon sergeant, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Tim Simpson.
“He pushed me to go further than I thought I could,” Towns said. “When I started doubting myself, he’d look at me and say, ‘Relax. We’ve got this.’”
Towns brought that approach back to Baumholder, making it a point not only to lead but to humanize his role. He often reminded Soldiers that small gestures of genuine care, such as handing a departing Soldier a belt buckle as a token of thanks, could turn that Soldier into someone who tells a positive Army story.
“It’s those little moments of connection that leave a legacy,” Towns said. “When Soldiers realize you’re human and you care, they go on to share that experience, and that shapes how others see the Army.”
Although Towns spent most of his career in the special operations community, his limited time with the 16th Sustainment Brigade broadened his understanding of large-scale sustainment operations in a contested environment.
“This assignment showed me what contested sustainment looks like without rounds being fired,” he said. “Here in Europe, the challenge is often technology and spectrum warfare, but it’s still contested.”
One of the initiatives Towns drove during his tenure was Knights Academy, a weeklong integration course for all Soldiers and leaders arriving in the brigade, regardless of rank.
“Whether you’re a private or a battalion commander, everyone goes through the same baseline integration,” Towns said. “It helps people understand why this brigade exists and why their role matters.”
He also emphasized multinational interoperability by bringing allied partners together through recurring company-level training events.
“That’s where real relationships form,” he said. “If something happens in Europe, we’re going to operate alongside our allies, and those relationships matter long before a crisis ever begins.”
On Dec. 5, Towns formally relinquished responsibility as the brigade’s senior enlisted adviser to his successor, Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Ingram. One of Towns' former platoon sergeants, a transition Towns described as especially meaningful.
“It’s a proud moment,” he said. “It means you’ve done something right.”
Knowing his replacement’s capabilities made the transition seamless.
“I know exactly what they’re getting,” Towns said. “He cares about Soldiers, and he’ll lead in his own way.”
For Towns, success was not measured by rank or positions held, but by the leaders he developed along the way.
“All of my first sergeants went on to become sergeants major,” he said. “Now one of my former platoon sergeants is backfilling me at brigade level.”
From a snowbound private arriving in Baumholder in 1998 to a command sergeant major handing responsibility to the next generation in 2025, Towns’ career reflects persistence, mentorship and a consistent commitment to Soldiers.
| Date Taken: | 12.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2025 06:17 |
| Story ID: | 553858 |
| Location: | KAISERSLAUTERN, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Hometown: | MOUNT PLEASANT, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 7 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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