Henry Daily Herald

McDonough resident, Allan Wade Elliott, a reservist, will greet his family and friends this holiday season, after being promoted to brigadier general.

The 49-year-old husband, and father of four, officially accepted his promotion on Nov. 19, in Charlotte, N.C., and now serves as deputy commanding general of the 108th Training Command in the U.S. Army Reserve.

“We are very proud of Allan,” said Maj. Gen. Robert P. Stall, commander of the 108th Training Command. “We are delighted he is being recognized for his 27 years of military service, culminating in him being promoted to brigadier general today.”

Stall, who hosted Elliott’s promotion ceremony, said he looked forward to working with Elliott as he takes on many more responsibilities as a general officer.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to serve,” said Elliott. “People come up to us when we’re in our fatigues and thank us all the time, but the truth of the matter is, it’s our privilege to serve.”

The Army reservist, like others in the United States military, has sacrificed throughout his career — at times spending long periods of time away from home. Presently, he works two states away from his family.

“I am what you call a geographic bachelor,” Elliott said. “I maintain my home [in McDonough], but I have to go where the work is.”

Elliott’s full-time civilian job is as a logistics management specialist with the Department of the Army, at the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C. Though away from his family, he said he embraces the opportunity to work for, and serve in, the armed forces.

“This is something you get used to,” he said. “Army families are strong, and they pull together. I go home every weekend that I’m not doing something for the Army.”

The brigadier general plans to make the six-hour drive home this weekend to spend about 10 days with family. “It’s good to get to come home,” said Elliott. “For those who don’t get to go home, they’re doing their service — what they want to do and what they’re paid to do.

“I think that anybody who is in uniform is a volunteer,” he continued. “We’re doing it because we want to do it. In the military, we strive to take care of our soldiers –– mission first and soldiers always.”

Elliott has been a soldier since 1984, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at North Georgia College, where he earned a bachelor’s of business administration in management.

Following his graduation, he attended Infantry Officer’s Basic Course, Ranger School, and then commanded a Mechanized Infantry Platoon. Elliott later served as the Chief of the Light Infantry Tactics Training Committee in the 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga.

He entered the U.S. Army Reserve after completing his active duty commitment. He was mobilized in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm with the 461st Personnel Services Company, where he served as the assistant crisis-action-team chief, and later, team chief in the Fort Stewart Emergency Operations Center.

His previous assignments include: operations staff officer, Forces Command (FORSCOM) Augmentation Unit; instructor, Department of Defense Emergency Preparedness Course; assistant professor of military science, 108th Division at the Georgia Institute of Technology, from 2000 to 2001; commander, 1081st Ordnance Detachment; commander, 9th Battalion (Quartermaster), 108th Regiment in Decatur, Ga.; commander for the 4013th Garrison Support Unit in Bossier City, La.; and chief of plans, operations and force projection in the FORSCOM G-4.

Elliott also served as the officer-in-charge of the combat arms school for the Multinational Security and Transition Command in Iraq, from 2006 to 2007.

“That was the most significant and best experience I had in the Army,” he said. “We all felt like we were actually helping these people rebuild their military and rebuild their country. They were putting their own lives at risk ,just by serving their country.”

Elliott, a 1980 graduate of Morrow High School in Morrow, is an avid golfer and Georgia Tech and Atlanta professional sports fan. He has a wife, four children, and a grandchild, all of whom joined to support him in his promotion ceremony.

His parents, aunts and uncles also made the trip from Georgia, while his sister made the trip from Colorado to attend the ceremony. His wife of 27 years, Sharon, participated in the ceremony, by replacing Elliott’s colonel rank on his Army Combat Uniform with the one star rank of brigadier general.

“Some people think if they could just get promoted, they would have it made,” Elliott said. “I tell you, when you get promoted, it only means more work is coming your way, and I’m ready for it. Lob it at me.”