Jack L. Tilley

Jack L. Tilley
SMA Jack L. Tilley
Born	(1948-12-03) December 3, 1948 Vancouver, Washington
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1966-1969 1971-2004
Rank	Sergeant Major of the Army
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star with V Device Meritorious Service Medal (2) Army Commendation Medal (3) Army Achievement Medal(3) Presidential Unit Citation

Jack L. Tilley was sworn in as the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army on June 23, 2000 and served until January 15, 2004.

Early life

Tilley was born in Vancouver, Washington, on December 3, 1948.

Military career

He entered the U.S. Army in November 1966 and attended basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, and advanced individual training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Following tours in Vietnam and Fort Benning, Georgia, SMA Tilley left the active duty Army for two years and served in the Reserve Component before enlisting again in the Active Component in September 1971.

He held a variety of important positions culminating in his assignment as the Sergeant Major of the Army. He previously held the senior enlisted position as Senior Enlisted Leader of the United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Other assignments he held as Command Sergeant Major were 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry, Fort Knox, 194th Armored Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Bad Kreuznach, Germany and United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Arlington, Virginia.

Throughout his 36-year career, SMA Tilley held every key leadership position including tank commander, section leader, drill sergeant, platoon sergeant, senior instructor, operations sergeant and first sergeant. His military education includes the First Sergeants Course and the Sergeants Major Academy. He is also a graduate of the basic airborne course, drill sergeant school and master gunner's course.

Jack is currently Senior Instructor, Operations Sergeant And First Sergeant at Oak Grove Technologies in Falls Church VA

Awards and decorations

Parachutist Badge

Army Staff Identification Badge

Drill Sergeant Identification Badge

	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
	Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device
	Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
	Presidential Unit Citation
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
	Valorous Unit Award
	Superior Unit Award
	Army Good Conduct Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with award star
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Vietnam Service Medal with two award stars
	Armed Forces Service Medal
	NCO Professional Education Ribbon with award numeral 4
	Army Service Ribbon
	Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 2
	Vietnam Campaign Medal
	NATO Medal
	Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation

Post-military career

Jack Tilley retired from the Army in January 2004. He is now the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of the American Freedom Foundation. This organization raises awareness for military personnel, their service, and sacrifice, and raises money for various organizations that help service members, veterans and their families. The organization also sponsors military career fairs and hiring events regularly in major military areas around the country. These events are usually in conjunction with high-profile concerts or entertainment. Special emphasis is always given to the men & women who were (WIA) wounded in action.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "http://www.army.mil/leaders/leaders/sma/former/tilley.html".
The Sergeants Major of the Army, Daniel K. Elder, Center of Military History, United States Army Washington, D.C. 2003.

External links

Media related to Jack L. Tilley at Wikimedia Commons