Brig. Gen. Lear reflects on four decades of service to the Kentucky Army National Guard

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Family, friends and fellow Soldiers honored U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Joe Lear Sept. 13 as he retired after nearly four decades in the Kentucky Army National Guard.

During the ceremony at Boone National Guard Center, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Haldane Lamberton, adjutant general for Kentucky, praised Lear for the example he set throughout his service to the commonwealth.

“We’re a better organization because of your service and the example you’ve set for so many of us and for future generations of Soldiers,” Lamberton said. “Others have been impacted by your example, your service and your willingness to volunteer — first to become a Soldier, then to volunteer a second time to go through the OCS program.”

Speaking to those gathered, Lear thanked them for their support, mentorship and friendship over the years. He also thanked his Family for the sacrifices they made as a result of his service.

For Lear, the decision to join the National Guard began with a practical goal: paying for college.

“I first enlisted, like many do, for college tuition,” Lear said.

At the time, Lear recalled, the Montgomery GI Bill provided about $76 a month. He enlisted for six years, intending to serve long enough to reach 20 years.

“I liked the people and being an infantryman,” Lear said. “I enjoyed the training and the camaraderie of my unit. I’m still friends with several of the people that I served with during my first enlistment.”

By the end of his first enlistment, Lear had been promoted to staff sergeant and saw two possible paths forward: continue as an enlisted Soldier or pursue commissioning through Officer Candidate School.

“I thought I could stay enlisted and become a sergeant first class or first sergeant, or if I went to OCS, I could retire as a captain,” he said. “So that was my goal and motivation for seeking a commission.”

That decision ultimately led Lear through nearly four decades of service, culminating in his career as a general officer.

Lear served in many roles at multiple echelons in Kentucky’s 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, including company commander, battalion executive officer, and battalion commander. He was also the liaison officer for the 101st Airborne Division Main Command Post Operational Detachment in Louisville, commander of Kentucky’s Garrison Training Center in Greenville, and land component commander for the Kentucky Army National Guard.

Additionally, Lear served multiple operational assignments with the 1-149th Infantry during Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Lear noted his assignment during Operation Iraqi Freedom as company commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-149th Infantry, from 2006 to 2007 shaped him more than any other assignment.

The HHC was the largest company in the battalion. The organization included the battalion staff, a sniper section, maintenance, medical, and three other platoons.

Two platoons supported security missions for intelligence agencies and operated across major population centers in Iraq. Another provided entry control at Baghdad’s largest entry control point while also serving as a quick reaction force for other companies operating around Camp Slayer.

“It was an extremely demanding and stressful assignment filled with lessons about leadership,” Lear said. “It was also very satisfying and worthwhile.”

One conversation during that deployment remains particularly meaningful to him.

“I can remember sitting with 1st Sgt. Dewayne Bunch one day talking about how very few people can say they led troops in combat and how fortunate we both were to have the company we led,” Lear said.

Lear said combat also provided him with one of his most significant leadership lessons.

“Combat was the most challenging test for me, and I learned that I could function and do the job required under those conditions,” he said. “I learned to trust my troops and that trust was given back to me.”

That trust became a defining part of Lear’s leadership philosophy.

As a young officer, Lear said he initially believed being an effective leader meant being the best Soldier in his platoon. Over time, his understanding of leadership changed.

“People are the main effort,” Lear said.

A leader’s role, he explained, is not to make himself the best Soldier in the formation, but to make the organization better by developing the people within it.

“A leader does need to have technical and tactical proficiency, but that’s not as important as the unit having technical and tactical proficiency,” he said. “One or two super Soldiers can’t compete against a platoon of proficient Soldiers.”

Lear also came to view competition among Soldiers and leaders differently.

“Officers and NCOs, don’t compete against each other, we compete with each other,” he said.

In an organization where Soldiers are routinely evaluated and ranked against their peers, Lear said it can be easy to view fellow Soldiers as competitors. But on the battlefield, those same Soldiers become teammates whose capabilities directly affect the success of the mission.

“Our enemy doesn’t care where we rank amongst our peers,” Lear said. “In combat those officers to your left and right are the same ones you’ve been ranked against, and I’d prefer them both to be the best that they can be, even better than myself.”

Rather than trying to outperform those around him, Lear worked to make those around him better.

“That way we can all be better,” he said.

Over nearly four decades, he encountered countless mentors and leaders, learning something from each of them.

“I’ve learned that leaders come in all ranks, not just superior officers,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about leadership styles from E4s and privates.”

Lear’s career spanned the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which he said marked the most significant changes he witnessed during his service, transforming the National Guard from primarily a strategic reserve into an operational force.

The Kentucky National Guard went from mobilizing once in the 1990s for Operation Desert Storm to having units continuously mobilized for more than two decades in support of the Global War on Terror.

For Lear, the greatest impact of that transformation can be seen in the Soldiers themselves.

“Every Soldier in the Kentucky National Guard today has either enlisted or extended [their service] during a time when our nation was or is at war,” Lear said. “A completely volunteer force is unique in history, particularly during war.”

Yet when asked what accomplishment he is most proud of, Lear did not point to a command, deployment, promotion or award. Instead, he pointed to the Soldiers whose lives he believes he helped improve.

Lear recalled a recent conversation with a sergeant first class who had once been a private serving under his command. Before the Soldier left for basic training, Lear encouraged him to remain in the Army for 20 years.

The Soldier followed his advice, later telling Lear the guidance meant a great deal to him and that his experience in the Kentucky Army National Guard had been a great one.

“Just being the person that helped someone else have a better life is very significant to me,” Lear said.

That philosophy will remain central to the advice Lear leaves for the Soldiers who continue the mission.

He believes senior leaders have a responsibility to establish the conditions for their organizations and their people to succeed, particularly through talent development.

“Training, tactics, equipment, formations, etc., all change over time,” Lear said. “The people who lead this change need to be the very best possible and we need to have several available.”

Developing that depth of talent, he said, is essential because leadership plans inevitably change.

“‘Life happens’ is something we say often when discussing our command plans,” Lear said. “So having a broad bench of officers who have the right development and backgrounds for these positions is critical.”

Ultimately, however, Lear hopes his legacy is simple.

“I hope the Soldiers I served with will remember that I truly did care for them,” he said. “The people were the reason that I stayed as long as I did in this organization. They all are truly the greatest of their generation.”

As he closes his career, Lear hopes that same commitment to one another continues throughout the organization.

“My hope for a legacy in the Kentucky National Guard is for all Soldiers to take care of each other,” he said. “Everyone has a place and talent that will help their team to accomplish the mission.”

For Lear, helping Soldiers discover that place is at the heart of leadership.

“A leader’s greatest challenge and reward are to help find the place and purpose for every Soldier,” he said.

After nearly four decades in uniform, Lear admits he is still figuring out exactly what retirement means.

“I’m excited and apprehensive at the same time,” he said.

He is looking forward to spending more time with his Family and grandchildren, but he knows there is one part of military life he will miss.

“I know I will miss being around the troops,” Lear said.

And there is at least one familiar excuse he will no longer be able to use.

“I guess I’ll have to come up with another excuse for when someone asks me to help them move because ‘Sorry, I have drill that weekend’ will not work anymore,” Lear joked.

For more information about the Kentucky Army National Guard and career opportunities, please visit https://ky.ng.mil/.

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