Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Metheny will soon begin a high-level command post in Afghanistan

Three weeks ago, Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Metheny saw what looked like progress in Iraq.

�I walked down a street in Mosul where I threw 19 hand grenades 10 years ago,� he said.

Now there are shops and caf�s on that street. There�s a normalcy that looks to Metheny like a positive outcome.

�It was all worth it,� he said. �It was a lot of pain and suffering, but it was all worth it.�

That, however, is just one street in Mosul. Much of the region is not on such hopeful footing. But that�s Metheny�s latest assignment: help stabilize Afghanistan.

A rucksack belonging to Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Metheny is seen Monday amid other belongings in a moving van at Metheny's parents' home in Marble Hill, Missouri.TYLER GRAEF

Metheny, who before he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1990 was a Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate, visited his parent�s home in Marble Hill, Missouri, over the weekend to relax � and lament the Tigers� stinging home loss to the Jackson Indians � before his two-year deployment. He will serve as the senior enlisted leader to four-star Gen. Austin �Scott� Miller, who was selected earlier this year to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Miller, who has extensive experience in special operations and served previously as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, will have to contend with a persistent Taliban insurgency and navigate a turbulent Afghan political climate to bring an end to violence in the country.

Part of accomplishing that goal will include training the Afghan military, an area in which Metheny�s experience refining curriculum at previous posts such as Fort Benning will likely prove useful.

In his new role, Metheny�s duties will include enforcing standards of discipline.

�I�m basically a kind of mother hen of the entire enlisted branch,� he said.

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Metheny arranges his belongings Monday in a moving van at his parents' home in Marble Hill, Missouri. Metheny will soon assume a high-level command post overseeing many of the U.S. military's operations in Afghanistan.TYLER GRAEF

Additionally, Metheny said Miller, like all generals, will likely have to spend considerable time interfacing with individuals not directly involved in combat situations or the day-to-day running of the military; diplomats, for example. So if Miller needs someone to go to Kandahar or Korengal for a first hand account of the situation, Metheny is his man.

�It�s sort of a second set of eyes for the commander,� Metheny said.

Not just the Army, either. Metheny will be overseeing soldiers, sailors, airmen � the entire Afghanistan operation.

Metheny said he was selected in part because he�d previously served Gen. Miller in a similar role at Fort Benning when the latter was a two-star general.

�My former boss will be my new boss,� he said.

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Metheny

He said that experience should serve him well, as much of a command�s efficacy is because of productive cooperation among the leaders. Past executing orders, Metheny said it�s also important to provide realistic analysis and alternative perspectives.

�If three people think alike, then two of them probably aren�t needed,� he said, adding sometimes a commander needs someone to step in and say �it�s not all sunshine and unicorns, sir.�

One could count the number of assignments like Metheny�s in Afghanistan � senior enlisted leader for a four-star General � on one�s fingers, and Army regulations require soldiers of Metheny�s rank to retire at 30 years unless they obtain a special assignment.

�It means if I don�t get selected for a job, I retire,� he said.

But that would mean less time taking care of the men and women in his command, which is all the incentive Metheny needs.

�What really makes me want to keep doing this is the people,� he said. �The things you see them do, it�s amazing.�

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573)388-3627