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Wayne Grigsby Jr. said the story of him becoming a general officer in the Army isn’t just about himself.
It’s the story of two Soldiers who approached him after a 100-hour firefight during Operation Desert Storm, thanking him for his leadership. It’s the story of his wife, Cynthia, a Panama City native who barely spoke English when they met, but supported him through 27 years of marriage. It’s the story of Spc. Kyle Little and Sgt. Blake Stephens, killed in Iraq in 2007 by an improvised explosive device while escorting Grigsby through Salman Pak, 18 miles south of Baghdad. It’s also the story of Grigsby’s faith.
Lt. Gen. David G. Perkins, commander of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, told attendees of Grigsby’s general officer promotion ceremony Jan. 27 that it takes tens of thousands of service members and their families to make a U.S. Army general officer — working every day to support training, leadership, ideas and decision-making. Those service members and their families work long hours and give up time together for the sake of defending the nation.
“In the Army, we cannot go out and hire generals from someplace else,” Perkins said. “We don’t recruit them off the street. They are homemade. We build them ourselves.”
The Army chose Grigsby because of his experience as a leader and as a scholar, Perkins said.
“(Grigsby) does have the stuff of a general officer,” Perkins said. “And with that star on your chest comes a responsibility of those tens of thousands of Soldiers and families who will continue to pay that expense with all of us to produce other general officers, produce other leaders, produce other Soldiers and company commanders. They will follow in your footsteps, they will look at what you do, they will follow your model.”
Grigsby is currently director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence. Before this assignment, he was the director of the School of Advanced Military Studies.
Grigsby began his career in 1984 in Panama upon graduating from Salisbury University, Md. He commanded Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Grigsby also deployed to Iraq twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Grigsby’s military education includes the Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, and the National War College at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. Grigsby earned a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National War College.
Grigsby and his wife Cynthia have five children and one grandson.
Grigsby thanked the members of his church in Leavenworth for their support during his time here.
“It really is about God, country — which is our Army — and my family. And that’s what really makes up a man,” Grigsby said. “And all those have to be in balance in order to lead the way you want to lead.”
Wayne Grigsby Jr. said the story of him becoming a general officer in the Army isn’t just about himself.
It’s the story of two Soldiers who approached him after a 100-hour firefight during Operation Desert Storm, thanking him for his leadership. It’s the story of his wife, Cynthia, a Panama City native who barely spoke English when they met, but supported him through 27 years of marriage. It’s the story of Spc. Kyle Little and Sgt. Blake Stephens, killed in Iraq in 2007 by an improvised explosive device while escorting Grigsby through Salman Pak, 18 miles south of Baghdad. It’s also the story of Grigsby’s faith.
Lt. Gen. David G. Perkins, commander of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, told attendees of Grigsby’s general officer promotion ceremony Jan. 27 that it takes tens of thousands of service members and their families to make a U.S. Army general officer — working every day to support training, leadership, ideas and decision-making. Those service members and their families work long hours and give up time together for the sake of defending the nation.
“In the Army, we cannot go out and hire generals from someplace else,” Perkins said. “We don’t recruit them off the street. They are homemade. We build them ourselves.”
The Army chose Grigsby because of his experience as a leader and as a scholar, Perkins said.
“(Grigsby) does have the stuff of a general officer,” Perkins said. “And with that star on your chest comes a responsibility of those tens of thousands of Soldiers and families who will continue to pay that expense with all of us to produce other general officers, produce other leaders, produce other Soldiers and company commanders. They will follow in your footsteps, they will look at what you do, they will follow your model.”
Grigsby is currently director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence. Before this assignment, he was the director of the School of Advanced Military Studies.
Grigsby began his career in 1984 in Panama upon graduating from Salisbury University, Md. He commanded Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Grigsby also deployed to Iraq twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Grigsby’s military education includes the Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, and the National War College at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. Grigsby earned a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National War College.
Grigsby and his wife Cynthia have five children and one grandson.
Grigsby thanked the members of his church in Leavenworth for their support during his time here.
“It really is about God, country — which is our Army — and my family. And that’s what really makes up a man,” Grigsby said. “And all those have to be in balance in order to lead the way you want to lead.”
