Julius William Gates (born June 14, 1941) is a retired United States Army soldier who served as the eighth Sergeant Major of the Army. He was sworn in at the Pentagon in July 1987 and served until his term ended four years later in June 1991.
Early life Gates was born in North Carolina on June 14, 1941 and raised on a farm northwest of Carrboro, North Carolina.Transcript, Oral history interview with Sergeant Major of the ARMY Julius W. Gates (USA- ret) by Erwin H. Koehler https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1117603.pdf
Military career Gates enlisted in the United States Army at the height of the Cold War on 12 August 1958, and attended initial training and infantry training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. First assignment was to the 3d Battle Group, 6th Infantry Division, in the still divided Berlin in 1959 which included guard duty at Spandau Prison. While there he was promoted to Specialist 4th Class and attended the NCO academy, where he was the honor graduate. He also completed his GED. He left the army after his 3-year enlistment ended.
He rejoined the army the same year he left and volunteered for the airborne and was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky and the 3d Battle Group, 187th Infantry Regt., 101st Airborne Division. As a member of the 101st Airborne Division, he and his unit were called on by President John F. Kennedy to enforce racial integration at the University of Mississippi. While at Fort Campbell, he attended Jumpmaster School, Pathfinder School and CBR School as well as the Ranger course where he was the top graduate.
In 1966 he would be sent to Vietnam with Company B, 2d Bn. (Airborne), 502d Infantry Regt., 101st Airborne Division where he was a squad leader doing search and destroy missions. There Gates would be promoted to staff sergeant. He was also wounded during an assault on his base camp.
He returned to Fort Benning in 1967 as a sergeant first class and a Ranger instructor. He also attended the British Army Tactics School. In 1969, Gates was sent back to Vietnam with Company K, 75th Infantry, the Ranger element of the 4th Infantry Division. He served in several roles including operations sergeant and first sergeant.
Upon returning from Vietnam, in 1970, Gates was sent to Germany and the 2nd Bn., 54th Infantry Regt., 4th Armored Division as the S-2 Intelligence sergeant in place of an officer. Returning from Germany in 1973, he was sent to the Mountain Ranger Camp in Dohlonega, Georgia as a chief instructor. In 1974 he was promoted to master sergeant and sent to the 3rd Ranger Co. at Fort Benning. He then attended the Sergeants Major Academy and the Community College of El Paso, earning his associates degree in 1977.
In 1977 he organized the 24th Infantry Division's NCO academy. In 1978, Gates was promoted to sergeant major and assigned to the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) staff at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). In 1980, he was sent back to Germany and the 2nd Bn. (Mechanized), 50th Infantry Regt., 2nd Armored Division (Forward), in Garlstedt, Germany. He moved to Würzburg as the 3rd Infantry Division's Command Sergeant Major (CSM). In 1984, he returned from Germany to the Sergeants Major Academy as it's CSM. He would next go to Korea as the Eighth Army CSM in 1985 where he worked to improve the conditions for the troops, which were often austere.
Gates became SMA on 1 July 1987. He spearheaded designating 1989 the “Year of the Noncommissioned Officer" as well as leading to the creation of the NCO Journal. He visited Panama during Operation Just Cause and Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He was also active on the uniform board - asking for and getting more than 150 changes to the uniform. He retired on 30 June 1991.
Awards and decorations Combat Infantryman Badge Ranger tab Master Parachutist Badge Expert Marksman Badge with one weapon clasp Army Distinguished Service MedalDefense Superior Service MedalLegion of MeritBronze Star Medal with Valor device and three oak leaf clustersPurple HeartDefense Meritorious Service MedalMeritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clustersAir MedalArmy Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clustersArmy Achievement MedalPresidential Unit CitationGood Conduct Medal with 5 silver loopsArmy of Occupation MedalNational Defense Service Medal with bronze service starVietnam Service Medal with service starNCO Professional Development with award numeral 5Army Service RibbonOverseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 5Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit CitationVietnam Campaign Medal 10 Service stripes. 2005 recipient of the Doughboy Award from the National Infantry Association.The Wexford Group
Sergeants Major Gates currently works for the Army Research Institute at the Joint Readiness Training Center Operations Group (JRTC OPS GRP) and is often out in the field showing outside agency's the training conducted at the JRTC so they can help improve the training for the U.S. Army.
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