 |
Personal Motto Drives Army Officer
(August 11, 2009) |
|
|
Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of
Combined Joint Task Force 82, speaks prior to Army Lt. Col. Mary
Cheyne's promotion to lieutenant colonel on Bagram Airfield,
Afghanistan, Aug. 1, 2009. Cheyne, a Kemblesville, Pa., native, is
the knowledge management officer for the joint operations compound.
U.S. Army photo by Barry Wilson |
|
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2009 – Army Lt. Col.
Mary Cheyne, knowledge management officer with Combined Joint Task Force 82
here, started as a West Point cadet and rose through the ranks to her current
position with the Army in Afghanistan.
Cheyne said her motto, “Make it happen,” enables her to conduct business every
day with focused determination.
“If you asked me when I started at West Point if I would stay in the Army long,
my answer would be no,” said Cheyne, a Kemblesville, Pa., native. “I didn't have
much exposure to the military growing up, and was not sure I had made the right
decision.”
Cheyne struggled with academics in her first year at the U.S. Military Academy,
but eventually realized she needed to make a decision about her future. “That
was a defining moment that shifted me towards a military career,” she said. |
|
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, provided another
defining moment. At the time, Cheyne was an administration assistant for Human
Resources Command's general staff, located in Alexandria, Va., near the
Pentagon. Cheyne said she watched the tragic events unfold before her eyes.
“[Sept. 11] affected everyone in some way,” she said. “We lost a lot of good
people that day, including my co-worker. That was a tough six months for me.”
When dealing with tough situations, she added, she keeps in mind that she is
part of something bigger than herself.
Cheyne continued her path to success, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
here Aug. 1. At her promotion ceremony, she made it clear that she knows she
hasn't succeeded on her own. “Today isn't about me,” she told the soldiers
assembled at the ceremony. “It's about you guys working hard to help.”
From her time as a supply services officer in war-torn Bosnia in 1996 to her
present deployment to Afghanistan, Cheyne has garnered praise from her
co-workers and leaders.
“She is a hard worker, and I respect her determination and drive,” said Army Lt.
Col. James Carpenter, director of the task force's communications office. “She
looks out for her people, and makes sure her contractors aren't forgotten.”
Steven Kinder, tactical ground reporting software theater coordinator for the
Defense Advance Research Program Agency, describes Cheyne's support as
“exemplary.” “The divisions rely on her leadership to get the information,” he
said.
Cheyne said she has a message for those who may be walking the line between
apprehension and action.
“Don't let someone tell you [that] you can't do something,” she said. “Know who
you are, be true to your values and be willing to take some chances. Good or
bad, it is our choices in life that make us who we are today.” | |
Article by Army Pfc. Cody A. Thompson
40th Public Affairs Detachment
Special to
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
Comment on this article |
|
