Posted on 11/28/2004 10:39:46 AM PST by soccer_linux_mozilla
We yield to no one in our admiration of Michael Jordan, but I can't figure out why we haven't heard anything about his oldest brother James -- make that the Army's Command Sgt. Maj. James R. Jordan. Command Sgt. Maj. Jordan is completing his thirtieth year of service with the Army's 35th Signal Brigade and reaching his mandatory retirement date. Because his unit is about to be deployed to Iraq for a year, however, he has asked for permission to extend his duty for the year.
I read this last night. Impressive man.
Where is the wife cheating MJ at and has he supported the USO by a tour yet?
Thank you Sgt. Maj. Jordan!
I can see the family resemblance! But a sergeant major is a sergeant major...not a basketball player. No offense to Michael, but I have a lot more respect for his brother.
By Henry Cuningham
Military editor
Command Sgt. Maj. James R. Jordan asked to stay in the Army for a year beyond his mandatory retirement date so he could complete a deployment to Iraq with the 35th Signal Brigade.
''We are currently at war,'' Jordan said. ''We are doing things, and it requires leaders to do certain things. That's what I am, a leader.''
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Command Sgt. Maj. James R. Jordan will complete a deployment with the 35th Signal Brigade before retiring.
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Like his younger brother, retired basketball star Michael Jordan, James Jordan loves his job, believes in helping his team, expects maximum effort from those around him, and will leave on his own terms.
The sergeant major stands 5-foot-7. His brother is about 6-foot-6. At Fort Bragg, the older brother has kept a low profile and avoided calling attention to his family connection.
Command Sgt. Maj. Jordan and about 500 soldiers of the brigade are scheduled to depart today for a year in Iraq.
Under normal conditions, the 47-year-old Jordan, who entered basic training in June 1975 and had three assignments in Korea, would start winding down his Army career in the spring as he approached the 30-year mark.
His colonel promised to support whatever decision he made, but Jordan had no intention of getting on an airplane April 29, flying home and leaving his brigade.
''That's not the way you want to end a 30-year career,'' Jordan said.
''People ask, 'Why?''' said Col. Bryan Ellis, the brigade commander. ''The answer is, he is completely selfless. We all want to see it go well.''
No-nonsense
Jordan is a no-nonsense noncommissioned officer with a shaved head and a wry sense of humor. In his job, he advises the commander as the senior enlisted soldier in the brigade of 2,450. Many of them are young specialists and sergeants facing back-to-back extended tours overseas.
''If you don't believe in selfless service, you are not going to make it in this business,'' Jordan said.
It's not your age that counts, it's your mind, said Jordan, the oldest person in the brigade. He went to airborne school, where most soldiers are in their teens or early 20s, as a 36-year-old first sergeant. At 47, he will run eight miles for physical training and expects soldiers to be alongside him, not lagging behind.
Three years of Junior ROTC at New Hanover High School in Wilmington helped convince Jordan that the Army was for him.
''I figured I wanted to be a soldier, plus I was the oldest of five kids,'' he said. ''I wanted to get out of the house and do something myself.''
In the early 1990s, he, as a sergeant first class, was the noncommissioned officer in charge of the team fielding the Mobile Subscriber Equipment, the Army's cell phone system.
''You would ask senior people for the answers to questions,'' said Ellis, the brigade commander. ''They would always say, 'Talk to Sgt. 1st Class Jordan.' He was the one that had the answers about anything - the training, the fielding, the maintenance.''
As Jordan sees it, his job is to help get the brigade to Iraq and back and resume the hectic work of providing communications for the 18th Airborne Corps around the world.
''The brigade has got to be prepared to do the mission when we return,'' Jordan said. ''Quite a few critical people are preparing to get out of the Army when they return.''
Preparing for danger
In recent months, he has been focused on preparing his soldiers for the dangers of Iraq.
''One of the things we found out is you've got quite a few soldiers who are technically smart,'' Jordan said. ''They can make a computer do everything you want it to do.''
But the computer-savvy soldiers also must know what to do on a Fort Bragg firing range or when a convoy is ambushed in Iraq.
''Your technical skills ain't going to help you be able to put steel where it needs to be,'' he said. '''Technical' ain't got nothing to do with it out there. You've got to be 'tactical' - just as qualified as the infantry.''
And don't tell the command sergeant major that a soldier can't pass the marksmanship test.
''That's the wrong answer,'' he said. ''You'll stay at that till you get it done. If you don't get it done today, you're going back tomorrow. Then tomorrow you get a little bit of love because I'll be standing over top of you, making sure you get it right.''
That's what a sergeant major is for, he said.
A noncommissioned officer can't be effective sitting in an office or standing back with hands on hips, he said.
''Some of my family really don't even know what I do,'' he said. ''They know I'm in the Army. That's about it. My immediate family and my wife, my kids, not extremely happy, but they are on the team. They say, 'Daddy, do what you've got to do.'''
Jordan said his mother told him he has ''been in it forever.''
''I've been doing this by myself for so long, being my own person, being my own soldier,'' he said. ''I'm going to continue doing it the same way until the day I feel like I need to hang it up, not when they feel like I need to hang it up.''
Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3585.
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Good article .. good man. I'm wondering why his baby brother, Michael, hasn't chosen to be a public voice for support-the-troops appeals, especially with his own brother going to the frontlines. C'mon, Michael .. step up to the plate!
Exept Command Sgt. Maj. James R. Jordan LOOKS intelligent and obviously is.
So sorry, Smadge, but it's someone else's turn now. Retire.
Exept Command Sgt. Maj. James R. Jordan LOOKS intelligent and obviously is.
Oooopseee...Sorry for the double post. My computer was just sitting there half asleep, and I thought otherwise; so I gave it another slap up the side of the head.
Don't harp on Michael for being in the NBA. He wasn't a thug. He was a statesmen for professional athletes.
It seems to me like their parents got something right. To have two extremely successful children is something of an accomplishment.
So sorry, Smadge, but it's someone else's turn now. Retire.
Yup...very true. You don't become a CSM by being stupid. You have to know how to lead, and inspire trust and respect from both enlisted and officers alike. I have never met a CSM I couldn't respect or follow. I suppose there are some, but I doubt it. I did a joint tour, and let me tell you--honestly--that I had even more respect for the Army NCO's than for my fellow petty officers.
(I will say, they had some trouble realizing that an E4 -Petty Officer 3rd Class-in the Navy is the equivalent to their NCO's!) LOL
They took care of their people, and I rarely saw anyone with the knife out for another soldier. I saw it a lot in the Navy, though. Very disappointing. The ones I got on with best were the salty old Senior and Master Chiefs...I loved those guys! They are what I miss about being in the Navy...they had some great stories.
I loved reading this. Someone very special to look up to. Wonderful story. I love this guy.
You're free to do so.
Experience matters more in the E5 - E7 grades than it does in E9.
Him staying on to get his combat patch prevents others from rising now.
Don't worry, I've seen plenty that should have retired to let a new, younger crop run things.
....which is pretty much how you get selected to be a Sergeant Major in the first place...
bump
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