After 28 years of service, Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel R. Wood retired today after an official change of responsibility ceremony in which Chief Master Sgt. W. Allen Usry assumed the duties of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command’s command senior enlisted leader here.
Nearly 100 military members and civilians braved a cold drizzle to say goodbye to Wood, who spent more than two years as the principal advisor to the commander on all enlisted matters.
According to Gen. Gene Renuart, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command commander, Wood set a high standard for future command senior enlisted leaders to follow.
“(Sgt. Maj. Wood) is a soldier’s soldier and there’s no bigger compliment than that,” said Renuart. “He embodies the ideals of what a CSEL is. He constantly pushed the commands forward, developing and implementing new ideas and programs for improving the commands and the enlisted corps throughout the Department of Defense.”
In addition to advising Renuart on a variety of enlisted issues and perspectives – from strategic vision, goals and objectives to enlisted professional development, he served as a mentor to other senior enlisted leaders throughout the commands and coordinated with headquarters staff agencies, commanders and senior enlisted personnel on matters pertaining to the command’s mission, vision and commander’s intent.
Wood said each year of his 28-year career has been rewarding, both because of his assignments and because of the people he’s worked with.
“I’ve been blessed to have served with great people throughout my career,” said Wood. “And I’ve been blessed to have lived in this community, with such a great relationship between the military and civilian communities.”
During the retirement ceremony, Wood was presented the Defense Superior Service Medal as well as personal accolades from President Barrack Obama, Afghanistan Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, New York Governor David Paterson and North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue.
A native of Albany, N.Y., Command Sergeant Major Wood entered the United States Army on July 27, 1981, and received his Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Ga. From 1981 to 1985, he served as a Team Leader and Squad Leader with the 2nd, 4th and 5th Battalions, 16th Infantry, First Infantry Division, Goeppingen, Germany, and Fort Riley, Kan. He was then assigned as a Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant with the 4th Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (LT), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, from 1986 to 1990.
From 1990 to 1993, Command Sergeant Major Wood served as a Platoon Sergeant and Senior Ranger Instructor with the 4th Ranger Training Battalion at Fort Benning, Ga. He was a Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeant in the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., from 1994 to 1997. He then returned to Hawaii as a First Sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (LT) at Schofield Barracks from 1997 to 1999. He served as Battalion Command Sergeant Major of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. from 2000-2002, serving in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in the spring of 2002. His next assignment was as Brigade Command Sergeant Major with the 4th Brigade, 78th Division (TS), Fort Bragg, N.C., from 2002 to 2004.
He served from 2004 to 2005 as Command Sergeant Major of United States Army South, FT. Sam Houston, Texas, and from 2006 to 2007 as Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. He assumed the command senior enlisted leader position March 26, 2007.
NORAD is a bi-national command that oversees aerospace warning and aerospace control for Canada, Alaska and the continental United States while USNORTHCOM oversees command and control of homeland defense issues and coordinates defense support of civil authorities upon request.