By Linda Braden Albert
of The Daily Times Staff
Chief
Warrant Officer 5 James A. Jackson had no idea when he entered the
United States Army in June 1964 that he would make history. But the
Greenback native did just that upon his retirement earlier this year,
acknowledged as having been in federal service longer than any other
warrant officer in the United States Army Ordnance Corps.
Jackson joined the army in 1964 as an enlisted soldier, and after
attending basic and advanced individual training at Fort Gordon, Ga., he
was assigned to the 504th Signal Company in Mannheim, Germany. He served
as a field radio repairman with duties in Germany, Fort Gordon, Vietnam,
Korea and Fort Benning, Ga. In August 1980, Jackson was appointed as
Warrant Officer 1, electronics communication technician, and proceeded
to move up in rank due to hard work, self-discipline and continuing
education.
From farm boots to boot camp
Jackson was born Jan. 21, 1946, to William Henry Jackson Jr. and Lelia
Thompson Jackson, both now deceased, and raised in Greenback on his
father’s 65-acre farm. Eight children made up the family.
“I worked on the farm there, taking care of the animals and things
there, until 1964,” Jackson said. In addition to the farm where the
family made its home, the elder Jackson also owned a 115-acre tobacco
farm and was employed at ALCOA Inc.
Jackson learned many life lessons from his parents.
“My father told me some things I should do. As you grow up, especially
when you’re working, always save some of your money,” Jackson recalled.
“He said to always pay yourself first before you pay anybody else. I did
that. He told me to save at least half of my money and I was saving half
of my earnings before I retired from the Army. I’m still saving money.”
Jackson said the biggest lesson he learned from his parents was to treat
others with respect.
“First, he taught us love and respect,” Jackson said of his father.
“Respect is very important in life. I live by that. I respect everyone,
try to love everyone and live a happy life. That’s what he told us to
do. Be respectful, treat people nice and kind, and in return, it’s
always rewarded to you.
“If you have a nasty attitude, people turn their back on you, but if you
show respect, love and kindness, doors open up for you that you really
don’t even expect to open up for you.”
In 1964, Jackson decided to enlist in the Army.
“I had two brothers that joined the Army, and I just liked what they
would come home and tell me about the Army,” Jackson said. “I came in,
stayed three years, got out for four months, got back in and stayed for
the rest of my life.”
Jackson said moving from farm work to the Army life wasn’t difficult.
“It’s just like, you follow your parents’ instructions, you go into the
Army with instructions you have to follow. If you follow instructions,
it’s very easy to train to what they want you to do. If you don’t follow
their instructions, it’s like your parents. They would chastise you if
you didn’t do what’s right. The Army would chastise you, too.
“Good training brings a good product at the end,” he said. “My father,
he trained us well and I applied it in the military, what he taught me.
It brought me from a private all the way to the top, as a CW5, in the
Army.”
Persistence pays dividends
Jackson worked as a field radio repairman, working on all the
ground-side communications for the Army. He moved up in rank quickly and
soon became a supervisor.
Thanks to the encouragement of his mentor, Chief Warrant Officer Henry
Riley, Jackson put in his packet to become a warrant officer. He was
turned down twice, but continued his education and applied again. The
third time he applied, in 1980, he was selected.
“It took me three times,” he said. “I wouldn’t give up because I knew
that I was officer material and I knew the Army needed a guy like me to
do that. That’s why I kept putting in, and the third time I got
selected.”
Jackson enjoyed his work, in particular his duties as chief of the
Warrant Officers Training Division, in Huntsville, Ala. “That is where I
developed new warrant officers, trained new warrant officers, as a
technician so they could go out and do their job and do it correctly,”
he said.
Jackson, now 62, retired in March. His last duty post was at Mannheim,
Germany, the same place where his Army career began.
“I love the Army,” Jackson said. “I stayed as long as I could, with 43
years, eight months and 24 days of service.”
He lives in Whites Creek, a suburb of Nashville, with his wife of 40
years, Joanne. They have two daughters, Denise and Careasa, and six
grandchildren.