By contributing writer Wesley Meno
Growing up in Trenton, N.J., Terrence Sommers did not expect to have a future in the Army.
“I was the only one in my family to go to college,” says U.S. Army Maj. Sommers, an assistant professor of military science. “My mother wanted me to try the ROTC program at the university. So I gave it a try and ended up enjoying it.”
Maj. Sommers earned his undergraduate degree in business administration at Drexel University in Philadelphia as well as a commission as an officer into the U.S. Army Reserves. He then pursued a career in insurance marketing as a supervisor at Credential Annuity Services for four years. “We were dealing with a lot of attorneys,” he says, “and from my perspective, they were doing the exact same thing we were doing, except they were getting paid more.”
After realizing this, he attended and graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in Baton Rouge, retaining his commission in the Reserves in the military police. He began a law practice in Augusta, but soon afterwards joined the district attorney’s office.
It wasn’t too long before duty called. He was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and to Afghanistan from 2007 to 2008. He specialized in counter-insurgency missions and was part of a military instructional training team, in which he was embedded with Iraqi counter-insurgent infantry.
“There were usually 300 Iraqis in the infantry and 10 Americans with them,” he says. “We were responsible for not only training them, but going with them on missions.” After returning from Afghanistan in 2008, he made the decision to remain in the Army.
“I’ve had several jobs and several different professions,” says Maj. Sommers. “I never had one that was more interesting and one that I had more pride in than being an Army officer. There are very few jobs that I could be more proud of than this one,” he adds.
Now, at Augusta State, he is serving as the executive officer and assistant professor of military science in the ASU ROTC battalion, instructing and motivating young cadets to become officers in the Army.
“After dealing with several officers in combat situations, I honestly see the importance of the quality of leadership,” says Maj. Sommers. “I want to have a hand in creating that quality leadership in today’s Army.”
Apr 6, 2009
Profiles