Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer is about to grow to be the Army’s subsequent prime enlisted chief in August, changing Michael Grinston, who is because of retire shortly after the handoff.
Weimer brings a major quantity of fight expertise to the place, some particulars of that are being publicly reported right here for the primary time, together with particulars on a number of Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars for valor.
He takes the position because the service transitions from twenty years of the International Conflict on Terror to what would superficially seem like peacetime, with Army planners having given themselves a self-imposed deadline to shift gear and doctrine to be prepared for large-scale standard warfare by the 2030s.
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The service’s prime enlisted leaders all have come from fight arms roles, largely with infantry, cavalry or artillery backgrounds, and usually have thick fight resumes, going again to the service’s first prime enlisted chief, William Wooldridge. Wooldridge landed on French seashores on D-Day and was later awarded two Silver Stars, one for actions through the Battle of Aachen in Germany and one other through the Battle of the Bulge.
Particulars of Weimer’s awards come from their respective citations, which had been reviewed by Army.com, although most contained restricted particular info on operations.
All awards had been for actions in Iraq, the place Weimer seems to have served with seventh Special Forces Group, primarily based on a assessment of his official bio and the years he was with that unit. Weimer was not made out there for an interview forward of this story’s publication.
On April 2, 2003, Weimer, a sergeant firstclass on the time, acquired a Purple Coronary heart and Bronze Star medal with “V” gadget for valor whereas serving as an assault group member and group breaching specialist — the soldier usually accountable for taking down doorways and different obstacles as a part of raids on buildings, usually with explosives.
“Sergeant First Class Weimer demonstrated excessive braveness within the face of the enemy assault,” the bronze star quotation reads. “Through the course of the battle, Sergeant First Class Weimer courageously accomplished his duties regardless of the hail of enemy fireplace impacting throughout him, the arduous terrain, and a nebulous risk setting that posed at appreciable threat with a view to get rid of the risk to his teammates and members of his unit.”
For actions on Sept. 4, 2004, Weimer, a grasp sergeant on the time, earned the Joint Service Commendation medal with “V” gadget for valor.
“Grasp Sergeant Weimer displayed the best diploma of professionalism, sound judgment, and technical and tactical competence through the extraordinarily delicate Secretary of Protection directed operation,” the award says. “His distinctive management and his untiring pursuit of excellence had been main components in his component’s capability to efficiently accomplish its mission.”
It’s unclear what operation Weimer participated in that earned him the Joint Service Commendation, however 2004 was an particularly bloody time within the struggle in Iraq. That very same September week is when U.S. fatalities topped 1,000.
On April 11, 2005, Weimer, nonetheless a grasp sergeant, was part of a helicopter assault on a “properly defended” enemy place as he and his group got here beneath heavy fireplace. Throughout that battle, Weimer killed a number of enemy personnel, together with a suicide bomber, incomes him a Bronze Star with valor gadget, in response to the award quotation.
Only a month later, on Could 2, Weimer and his group got here beneath heavy fireplace whereas in a helicopter. He later organized therapy for a number of wounded troopers, incomes him one other Bronze Star with “V” gadget.
“Grasp Sergeant Weimer got here beneath an intense enemy assault on his unit’s helicopter,” in response to the quotation. “He displayed valorous braveness, sound judgment, and distinctive proficiency whereas conducting therapy and triage of 4 wounded comrades, his actions had been paramount to making sure mission success and the security of the wounded, by means of his distinctive accomplishments.”
Weimer was wounded once more, two years in a while Jan. 1, 2007, incomes one other Purple Coronary heart, although the quotation has no specifics behind the accidents or mission.
Weimer would be the first prime enlisted chief to have served his total profession in particular operations, incomes his inexperienced beret in 1996 and serving as a weapons sergeant. He spent most of his profession with seventh Special Forces Group and varied roles in Army Particular Operations Command.
Out of the 16 sergeants main of the Army thus far, three others have some expertise in particular operations however all spent a major chunk of their careers or began out within the standard Army.
Glen Morrell, who served as sergeant main of the Army within the mid ’80s, initially served in artillery models earlier than transferring into Special Forces and deploying twice to Vietnam with fifth and eighth Special Forces Group as a heavy weapons sergeant; he later labored in intelligence.
Richard Kidd, who was the sergeant main of the Army within the early ’90s, was a Inexperienced Beret however spent the majority of his profession in common models and overseeing coaching applications. George Dunaway, the second sergeant main within the Army, sitting within the position from 1968 to 1970, served in 1st and fifth Special Forces Group through the Vietnam period, after spending the primary half of his profession within the 82nd and one hundred and first Airborne Divisions.
— Steve Beynon might be reached at Steve.Beynon@navy.com. Observe him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
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