{"id":7832,"date":"2022-10-02T20:01:30","date_gmt":"2022-10-02T20:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=7832"},"modified":"2022-10-05T17:49:05","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T17:49:05","slug":"md-national-guard-welcomes-next-command-senior-enlisted-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2022\/10\/02\/md-national-guard-welcomes-next-command-senior-enlisted-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"MD National Guard bids farewell to Senior Enlisted Leader, welcomes successor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Capt. Ben Hughes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BALTIMORE \u2013 Members of the Maryland National Guard bid farewell to their outgoing senior enlisted leader and welcomed her replacement in a formal change of responsibility ceremony and celebrated the retirement of the outgoing top enlisted adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims officially assumed the role of the MDNG Command Senior Enlisted Leader from U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson during a well-attended ceremony at the Fifth Regiment Armory, Oct. 1, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen, adjutant general for Maryland, presided over the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been a real pleasure to have worked with Perlisa over the last three and half years,\u201d said Gowen. \u201cShe is a fantastic ambassador, for not just the Maryland National Guard, but the National Guard writ large, the DoD, and the United States of America.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson speaks during her change of responsibility ceremony and the retirement ceremony on Oct. 1, 2022, at the 5th Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland. Wilson served in the Maryland Army National Guard for more than 32 years and was succeeded by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims as the MDNG\u2019s senior enlisted leader. (Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Kimberly Glazier)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wilson, who retired after 32 years of service, served at the CSEL since 2018. She was part of an all-female command team, which was a first for the entire National Guard. Coming up through the ranks, she served in personnel, management, operational, and logistical career fields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important to have not only the right people, but the people who have been leading from the ground level all the way up to the general officers speaking about what is affecting our Soldiers, Airmen, and their families, and [Wilson] has done that,\u201d said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Tony L. Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. \u201cI want to say thank you for that, and it has been an honor to serve with you.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson became the first Maryland Army National Guard African American woman to serve at brigade command sergeant major in 2016. Also, she was the first woman and African American to be the CSEL for the MDNG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know that she volunteered and extended her influence well outside the Maryland National Guard,\u201d said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. John T. Raines, the 13th Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard, about Wilson\u2019s support as secretary of the Command Sergeant Major advisory council. \u201cMy sister in arms, I appreciate you being there for me when I needed you, and I appreciate what you did for the Army National Guard.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen, adjutant general of Maryland, and U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson, command senior enlisted leader of the Maryland National Guard, stand at attention during the change of responsibility ceremony and the retirement for Wilson, on Oct. 1, 2022, at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, Maryland. Wilson served in the Maryland Army National Guard for more than 32 years and was succeeded by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims as the MDNG\u2019s senior enlisted leader. (Army National Guard photo by Spc. Tyrell Boyd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Raines said she represented 336,000 Soldiers and was instrumental in setting policies in a Department of Defense instruction dealing the pregnancy and post-partum, so women don\u2019t have to \u201cpick between being a Soldier and a mom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Maurice L. Williams, the 13th command chief master sergeant of the Air National Guard, and U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. (retired) John F. Sampa, the previous Army National Guard command sergeant major, also spoke about Wilson\u2019s impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am so thankful to my God for giving me the strength, not only to serve my country and my community, but the Soldiers and Airmen of the Maryland National Guard,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cGod is truly amazing, and without His strength and guidance, I would not have made it here today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sims is just the second Air National Guard Airman to serve as the command senior enlisted leader of the MDNG. Sims previously served as the 12th State Command Chief for the Maryland Air National Guard. In this role, he was the personal advisor to the assistant adjutant general \u2013 Air for the state of Maryland concerning training, readiness, morale and welfare, proper utilization, and the professional development of more than 1,400 Airmen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson passes the NCO saber to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen during the Maryland National Guard\u2019s senior enlisted leader change of responsibility ceremony and the retirement for Wilson, on Oct. 1, 2022, at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, Maryland. Wilson served in the Maryland Army National Guard for more than 32 years and was succeeded by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims as the MDNG\u2019s senior enlisted leader. (Army National Guard photo by Spc. Tyrell Boyd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the work [Chief Sims] did at the national level and brought back that experience back to the Maryland National Guard; it\u2019s that kind of leadership that will make you extremely successful,\u201d said Gowen. \u201cI look forward to many, many years of you in this most important position.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sims joined the Air Force in 1990 and held several active-duty positions. He also served in numerous maintenance leadership roles at the flight, squadron, group, and wing levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo the Airmen and Soldiers of the Maryland National Guard, I am truly humbled and honored to be your command senior enlisted leader,\u201d said Sims. \u201cI look forward to working hard for every one of you and continuing the success of the previous CSELs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar to a change of command ceremony, the change of responsibility serves the dual function of rendering honors to the departing senior enlisted leader and providing official recognition of the transfer of responsibility to the incoming senior enlisted leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The official party arrives for the Maryland National Guard\u2019s command senior enlisted leader change of responsibility ceremony and the retirement of U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Perlisa Wilson, on Oct. 1, 2022, at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, Maryland. Wilson served in the Maryland Army National Guard for more than 32 years and was succeeded by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims as the MDNG\u2019s senior enlisted leader. (Army National Guard photo by Spc. Tyrell Boyd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Capt. Ben Hughes BALTIMORE \u2013 Members of the Maryland National Guard bid farewell to their outgoing senior enlisted leader and welcomed her replacement in a formal change of responsibility ceremony and celebrated the retirement of the outgoing top enlisted adviser. U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sims officially assumed the role of the  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":7835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7832"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7852,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7832\/revisions\/7852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}