Central alum rises in ranks at Fort Benning

Tim Metheny didn't join the Army for one reason. He says part of it was the sense of patriotic service he learned from seeing his father and grandfather serve in the Navy. Part of it was he was drawn to the work ethic and purpose he saw in Army life.

He certainly didn't join to make rank and collect ribbons.

"I joined the Army to try something new," he said.

But once he enlisted, he said, he realized the Army was where he was meant to be. He's the senior enlisted adviser to the commanding general at Fort Benning, Georgia, overseeing an average of more than 25,000 soldiers a year.

It's a far cry from his days in Cape Girardeau Central High School, where, as his father, Tom, lovingly puts it, he, "farted around" on the wrestling team. He beat the top-ranked wrestler in the state, but didn't have the type of focus necessary to reach his potential.

"He told me, 'Dad, I'm never going to make that mistake again,'" Tom recalled his son telling him.

Tim was in Germany during Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield when he decided to make a career in the Army.

"I re-enlisted the last week of my initial contract," he said. But in short order, he had graduated with honors from Army Ranger school and was promoted to platoon sergeant in the 82nd Airborne.

"I knew that this is what I was going to do for the rest of my life," he said.

He had the opportunity to go back to school and be commissioned as an officer, but declined. He preferred the camaraderie of the job he was doing.

But when he was selected to be command sergeant major at Fort Benning, he says it was an immense honor.

"It's very humbling," he said. "There are only about 25 jobs similar to this one across the Army."

Despite his current station, he measures his success by a different metric.

"Twelve of my subordinates attended and graduated from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy," he said. "To see guys I mentored, to see them be successful, that's my biggest accomplishment."

He says that's what motivates not only him, but the majority of soldiers: camaraderie.

"If you ask them, they're brothers. You don't want to let the soldier to my left or on my right down," he said. "It makes you work harder every day."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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