Capt. Shannon Price and Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Baldwin are being recognized by the Kentucky National Guard for the 2017 General Douglas MacArthur Leadership award.
Both Soldiers come from the 103rd Brigade Support Battalion. Price is the commander of the 2123rd Transportation Company and Baldwin works as the battalion’s ammunition technician. If selected by the awards committee, they will represent Kentucky in Washington, D.C.
“These outstanding young Soldiers will go forward and compete nationally amongst their peers from each state for the prestigious General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Hogan, Kentucky’s adjutant general. “They are among the best officers our organization has to offer and we are confident they will represent Kentucky with the highest degree of excellence.”
Selection is based on overall leadership performance, the ability to influence others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation; developing cohesive teams that anticipate requirements and exercising initiative within the commander’s intent. The nominee exhibits intangible aspects of leadership relating to people skills, interpersonal communication skills and the quality of the leadership climate.
“It is an honor my command felt highly enough about my performance and duty to be nominated,” said Price. “It’s an even greater surprise and honor that both Chief Baldwin and I are from the 103rd Brigade Support Battalion. It is great when logisticians can take the lead in the state and come from a combat arms brigade.”
“This is an amazing honor to have my command recognize me and have the confidence in me to represent the 103rd Brigade Support Battalion, 138 Field Artillery Brigade and the state,” said Baldwin. “It’s great that there is a program recognizing junior officers and I am privileged to be nominated.”
The Kentucky Guard nominates two officers for the award each year, but it is rare when both come from the same battalion.
Maj. John Harvey, commander of the 103rd said, “Both officers are extremely deserving of the recognition and I won’t be surprised when they are selected as the national recipients of the MacArthur award. Price has excelled as the commander of the 2123rd Transportation Company, a unit with the complexity of serving the citizens of the Commonwealth, while also maintaining a strong relationship with the 101st Division. Baldwin is the perfect example of the citizen Soldier. He is an excellent ammunition warrant officer that enhances the battalion’s combat effectiveness. In his life away from the military, Mr. Baldwin is an assistant principle working daily to teach, coach, and mentor the next generation. I could not be more fortunate to have both of them serving in the 103rd Brigade Support Battalion.”
A total of 28 MacArthur awards are distributed across the active Army, National Guard and Army Reserves. For the Army National Guard, only seven officers will be selected for the nationwide award (6 officers and 1 warrant officer). The winners will be announced later this month.
The annual General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award ceremony will be held in May at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
The GDMLA program was introduced in 1987 to recognize company-grade and junior warrant officers who demonstrate MacArthur’s ideals of “Duty, Honor, Country,” and have a proven record of extraordinary performance, leadership and achievement.
(Photo: Josh Baldwin in 2006 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait)
By Stacy Floden, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
