FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Command Sergeant Major Gabriel Espinosa will relinquish responsibility and authority as command sergeant major of the Fort Campbell Garrison, a component of the Installation Management Command, to Command Sergeant Major Noel Foster at a ceremony at Wilson Theater, Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m.
Command Sgt. Maj. Foster has served in every enlisted leadership position within the Infantry from rifleman to command sergeant major. He also performed duties as a drill sergeant for 2-54th Infantry Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia and as a platoon trainer mentor and tactical analysis feedback NCOIC for Task Force 1 of Joint Readiness Training Center Operations Group, Fort Polk, Louisiana. He most recently served as the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Battalion, 101st Airborne Division command sergeant major at Fort Campbell and then assumed the role of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans,” 101st Abn. Div., rear detachment command sergeant major during their 2015 deployment.
Foster, a native of Washington State, has more than 25 years in service and has deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia; Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; and Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. His awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
The command sergeant major is the senior enlisted advisor to the commander and carries out policies and standards of performance, training, appearance, and conduct of enlisted personnel. The command sergeant major advises and initiates recommendations to the commander and staff in matters pertaining to noncommissioned officer support channels. Like the old sage of times past, the command sergeant major’s counsel is expected to be calm, settled and unequivocally accurate, but with energy and enthusiasm that never wanes, even in the worst of times.
Outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Gabriel Espinosa has been the command sergeant major for Fort Campbell since June of 2014. His next assignment will be as the 101st Airborne Division’s rear detachment command sergeant major.