General looks back on 47 years of service

Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard on Aug. 31, 1962. He retired Thursday after 47 years as a Tennessee guardsman.

His work has taken him across Tennessee and away to duty in Italy, Germany, Texas and Ohio. Maj. Gen. Hargett spoke to the Times Free Press recently, reflecting on nearly half a century with the Guard and on next steps for both his and the Guard's future.

Q: Why did you join the Tennessee Army National Guard?

A: My dad was in the Guard. Eleven of us went to basic training together and stayed together in the first few years. In my third year, they started lobbying all the guys to go to OCS (Officer Candidate School). I said, 'Guys, I'm only going to stay in six years.' They said I should make the best of it.

Q: How different is the Tennessee Guard now as compared to 1962?

A: The Army, I believe, has led the way in integration of all minorities. But we have really led the way with females. They do almost everything. I will tell you they have done it well.

When I got in the Guard, we drilled Monday night and some Sundays. We got a paycheck every three months. We had older equipment, nothing was compatible with active duty. We were not nearly as good as our active-duty counterparts.

Over that period of time, I have watched us go to modern equipment, better training and standards enforced better than they used to be.

Q: What are some challenges that face the Guard in the coming years?

A: To continue the funding stream, modernization. To continue to recruit quality people. As the war winds down, people will want to take the peace dividend and spend it on entitlement programs. People love the military when they need the military. But they see us out there when they don't need us and think, 'That's money we could spend on something else.'

Q: Why retire now?

A: I could have stayed until 2011. But we've got some great men and women up here who are ready to take a leadership role. I never wanted to be the guy who someone had to say, 'It's time to go home.' I say we're about as good as I can make us. It's time for somebody else to take us to a new level.

Q: What's your next step?

A: I'll start as the president of the National Guard Association in Washington, D.C. The association educates the public, runs a National Guard Museum and lobbies Congress to fund the Guard. I'm one of those guys who believes we are a militia nation. In peacetime we should have a smaller standing army and a larger reserve force. Given the kind of wars that I project for the future, I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't have a larger Guard.

PERSONAL GLANCE

Name: Gus L. Hargett Jr.

Age: 64

Hometown: Ripley, Tenn.

Family: Married with four children and seven grandchildren

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