U.S. Army Col. Fern O. Sumpter has served in the reserves and active duty.
She was deployed to Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and recently,
Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Her experience ranges from personnel to
intel.
On July 17, she became the first African American women to command Joint
Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington. The torch was passed to her at a
change of command ceremony in Conmy Hall by Col. Carl R. Coffman, the
outgoing Commander.
“I fully accept the responsibility and authority of commanding this great
organization with eyes wide open and a heart committed to serving,” Sumpter
said in a speech that followed the passing of the JBM-HH Colors, a formal
transfer of authority from one commanding officer to another.
Sumpter takes command of a base that is a conglomerate of three posts Fort
Myer, Fort McNair and Henderson Hall. She becomes the second commander to
oversee the base, which combines U.S. Army and Marine Corps operations.
Brig. Gen. Laura Richardson commanded the base when it was comprised of Fort Myer and Fort McNair.
Sumpter graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts in 1989
and was designated a distinguished military graduate of the Reserve Officer
Training Corps (ROTC) atBoston¹s Suffolk University. She was presented with
the traditional pomp and circumstance of such military ceremonies, including
an introduction by the U.S. Army Band, which is based in Fort Myer.
Before a private reception where military personnel and civilians were
invited to meet the base’s new First Family – Sumpter, her husband James
Winbush and their son Brandon Winbush and share a catered lunch, Sumpter
spoke about the responsibility of her new post.
“Today¹s ceremony is a very exciting time for us, but it is also a very
humbling sense of trust that the Army has placed not only in me, but also in
James, my husband of 23 years,” she said. James and Brandon Winbush looked at her proudly as she gave her remarks.
“This trust is not taken lightly and we understand that with the blessing of
command, we have been given an enormous mission,” she said.
Sumpter’s relatives occupied a sizeable section of the bleachers set up for
the occasion. She recognized her family’s “unwavering” support and her
husband and son¹s “unfailing commitment to being a true Army family, their
selfless dedication for always allowing me to do what the Army has called me
to, whenever and wherever that mission demanded.”
Sumpter, who hails from Boston, enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1983. She
commanded the U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen, in the Netherlands and served on
the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command staff in Kabul,
Afghanistan as the deputy, then chief of the Information Dominance Center.
“Commanders perform a myriad of duties that normally require a degree in
engineering, social work, education or psychology,” said the ceremony’s
host, Brig. Gen. John Uberti, deputy commanding general of Support,
Installation Management Command. “They have to be a housing expert,
recreation specialist, a diplomat, a negotiator and an ambassador to our
local communities. They lead a very diverse work force. No place is
that more true than Myer-Henderson Hall.”
Uberti credited Coffman¹s family, including his wife Karen and their four
sons.
“I¹ve been fortunate to be on a great team,” Coffman said in his remarks.
“Fern, you get to go to the pitcher¹s mound and take the ball. It does not
matter what you throw or what the result is. The Joint Base Myer-Henderson
Hall will make a play.”
Sumpter will command 123,000 military and civilian members of the JBM-HH
community.
She holds several awards and decorations, including the Distinguished
Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (six oak leaf
clusters), the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal
(first oak leaf cluster) and the Army Achievement Medal.
The ceremony’s special guests included Rep. James P. Moran (D-Va.), Army
Four-Star Gen. (Ret.) Johnnie Wilson and Col. Gregory Gadson, commander of
Ft. Belvoir, Va.
