When arriving at Lincoln College in 1996 to take part within the Reserve Officer Coaching Corps (ROTC) program, Jay Harty already had 51/2 years of service as an enlisted soldier within the U.S. Army. The subsequent 4 years would assist him develop his management potential and forge his want to guide troops compassionately and successfully.
Harty graduated from Northern Excessive Faculty in Calvert County, Maryland, in 1990 and, a number of weeks later, enrolled at a local people faculty. Not but totally dedicated to tutorial pursuits and with no job, an opportunity assembly with an Army recruiter quickly impressed a significant life change.
“I used to be consuming lunch at an area mall, and an Army recruiter walked up and requested, ‘What have you ever performed on your nation recently?'” Harty mentioned. “Throughout our dialog, I spotted the Army could be a technique to set up a profession and be taught a commerce.”
Enlisting in November 1990, he spent a number of weeks finishing his preliminary coaching as an infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia. Whereas there, he was recruited by the third U.S. Infantry Regiment — the “Previous Guard” — after watching a recruiting video.
“After I completed my preliminary coaching in February 1991, I went to the Previous Guard and served for the following 4 years or so,” he mentioned. “We marched in parades, carried out funerals and firing events at Arlington Nationwide Cemetery, and likewise participated in ceremonies on the White Home and Pentagon.”
It was throughout this task that he met Krista Younger of Tonganoxie, Kansas, who was working as a nanny within the Maryland space, and the 2 started courting. In 1994, Harty left the Army after his enlistment expired, however re-enlisted six months later after realizing how nicely his Army profession was progressing.
“They despatched me to the first Corps Headquarters at Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Washington in 1995, and Krista and I married the identical 12 months,” Harty mentioned. “Whereas there, I bumped into one among my former commanding officers who prompt I apply for the Army Inexperienced-to-Gold program, which might assist me earn a school diploma and fee as an Army officer.”
He continued, “I used to be accepted and again in 1996, the Army required that you just attend a HBCU (Traditionally Black School or College) in case you sought a four-year diploma. After some analysis, I selected Lincoln College because it had small courses and was solely three hours from my spouse’s household in Kansas.”
Harty and his spouse moved to Jefferson Metropolis, and he started courses within the fall of 1996. Throughout faculty, he was actively concerned in ROTC alternatives such because the Ranger Problem Staff and took part in competitions with the ROTC applications of different schools.
“I used to be a part of the Ranger Problem Staff throughout all 4 years of faculty and captain the final three years,” he mentioned. “It helped me to remain in form and sharpened my expertise as a soldier.”
Harty added, “School was a tricky time for Krista and I. … We have been dwelling paycheck to paycheck. I delivered pharmaceutical medication for Whaley’s, and my spouse labored at Capital Area Medical Middle. However we relied on one another to get by means of, which was a number of the finest occasions of our marriage.”
Graduating in Might 2000, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and despatched to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to finish navy intelligence management coaching. He then moved to Germany, spending the following 5 years serving in roles akin to platoon chief for a navy intelligence battalion and gained expertise inside a division headquarters.
The soldier and his spouse quickly welcomed their solely baby, a son named Noah.
The younger officer deployed to Kosovo in 2003 and, the next 12 months, deployed to Iraq. After returning to the states, he was assigned to an Airborne Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, remaining there for the following 16 months and deploying to Iraq a second time. Upon return from deployment, he assumed command of an organization and accomplished a 3rd deployment to Iraq.
“My subsequent task was with the Nationwide Coaching Middle in California from 2008-10,” he mentioned. “I helped mentor future battalion intelligence officers who have been deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, and realized rather a lot about coaching doctrine.”
Within the coming years, he earned two grasp’s levels whereas at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and completed a three-year task on the division workers of the a hundred and first Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Throughout this era, he additionally deployed twice to Afghanistan.
“For profession development, I wanted a joint task and utilized for an NSA (Nationwide Safety Company) place in Hawaii,” he mentioned. “I used to be accepted in 2015 and, for 3 years, labored in a number of management assignments throughout the NSA and was engaged in nationwide and strategic stage intelligence gathering.”
In July 2018, he grew to become the centrally-selected battalion commander of the Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED) Battalion, 1116th Army Intelligence Brigade, at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
“That was a difficult and rewarding mission as a result of my troopers took uncooked intelligence information from each combatant command and created detailed experiences utilized by many companies and navy items,” he mentioned.
Harty went on to graduate from the Naval Struggle School in Rhode Island in the summertime of 2021, incomes his third grasp’s diploma. He was then assigned because the deputy brigade commander of the 111th Army Intelligence Brigade at Fort Huachuca. He presently serves because the G3 for america Army Intelligence Middle of Excellence.
In Might 2023, he’ll switch to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to imagine command of the 525th Expeditionary Army Intelligence Brigade, persevering with a development of superior leaderships roles throughout the U.S. Army.
“I caught the management bug whereas within the ROTC program at Lincoln College, and it lit a hearth that has burned in me for greater than 20 years,” he mentioned. “And my experiences at Lincoln additionally taught me rather a lot about peer management and utilizing interpersonal expertise to encourage others with the intention to accomplish the mission.”
Harty added, “Main folks and making a constructive affect within the lives of others is essential to me, and my objective has at all times been to be the kind of chief that others need to be led by.”
Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Households of America.
