FORT IRWIN, CA, UNITED STATES
06.02.2019
Story by Capt. Robert Taylor

Command Sgt. Maj. Alice Randolph knows she’s the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s senior female noncommissioned officer, but it’s not something she spends a lot of time thinking about.

“I identify as a command sergeant major,” Randolph said.

As the 145th Brigade Support Battalion’s command sergeant major, Randolph’s primary mission is the taking care of the battalion’s 300 enlisted Soldiers.

“Taking care of Soldiers means teaching them, training them and mentoring them,” she said. “The best part of the job is watching Soldiers grow throughout their careers.”

Randolph enlisted into an U.S. Army Reserve unit when she was 17 and four years later transferred into Idaho Army National Guard.

“It was the best decision of my life,” she said. “The Army has been really good to me.”

Randolph has served as a 68W combat medic throughout her career. She’s spent the majority of her career in the 145th BSB, including time as a platoon sergeant and company commander before she was appointed to the battalion’s top enlisted spot in May 2017.

“I love 145th BSB Soldiers,” she said. “They really are the best group of Soldiers I’ve worked with. With most of the unit located in Northern Idaho, we have to be close knit.”

The 145th BSB provides logistic support to the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team. Its distribution company, A Company, and maintenance company, B Company, are both located in Post Falls. The unit’s brigade support medical company is located in Boise. The battalion’s headquarters is located in Lewiston, along with detachments from B and C companies. Forward support companies are attached to each of the brigade’s seven battalions to provide direct support.

As the battalion’s senior enlisted member, she serves as a member of the commander’s personal staff and provides him technical and tactical advice on the planning, training, preparation and execution of all unit missions. As the only female sergeant major in the battalion, she said it’s not uncommon for her to be the only female in senior brigade leader meetings.

“I’ve gotten used to being include in ‘gentlemen,’” she said, while adding she’s never felt she’s been treated differently throughout her career because she is a female Soldier.

The battalion is currently supporting the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s National Training Center rotation at Fort Irwin, California, which offers the unit the opportunity to sustain one of the National Guard’s five armored brigade combat teams across an astute environment roughly the size of Rhode Island. The U.S. Army’s 11th Armored Calvary Regiment provides the brigade with a near-peer opposing force, challenging Soldiers in the unit’s tactical proficiencies as well as its technical expertise.

“No matter how hard things get, the Soldiers make it fun and get the job done,” she said.

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