Toughest sergeant major finally retires

When he was on an operating table with his chest cracked open, everyone assumed Command Sgt. Maj. Fred Thompson’s long Army career was over. Surgeons installed three bypasses for the blood vessels feeding his heart.

But the gruff soldier was serving in Iraq within a few months.

“He’s a tough old bird,” said Sgt. 1st Class Gerard Rodriguez, who served with Thompson in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division. “Everybody admires him because of that.”

A change of command for the brigade Tuesday marked the end of Thompson’s time in uniform. The Army’s mandatory retirement regulations ended what heart trouble and four tours in Iraq could not.

Thompson was handpicked to be the brigade’s top enlisted soldier by Col. Butch Kievenaar, who stepped down as the brigade’s commander during Tuesday’s rites. He choked up as he talked about the 32-year veteran.

“Sergeant major, I can’t ever repay you,” Kievenaar said.

Sergeants major are demigods in the Army. While they’re outranked by the lowliest lieutenant, they are seen as wise counselors with deep experience. They serve as a commander’s eyes and ears, and are known for laying into anyone who endangers a soldier’s welfare.

Thompson cherished the role. In Iraq for a year that ended in August, he went everywhere his soldiers fought, making sure they kept on their toes and had the comforts they needed.

“Even the officers feared him,” Rodriguez said. “When he came around you better be on top of your game.”

Cantankerous is one of the nicer descriptions of Thompson’s demeanor when he found stupidity or complacency.

“It’s discipline with love,” Thompson said. “You want them to be able to take care of each other.”

Kievenaar loved Thompson because he told the truth, bluntly.

“I needed the unvarnished truth,” he said.

When Thompson’s heart trouble put him into the hospital, soldiers in the unit were devastated. Kievenaar told him to stay home, to let someone else fight the war.

“I also know him,” Kievenaar said. “He would never accept that.”

Thompson fought heart trouble with the same tenacity that earned him the Bronze Star for Valor in Iraq.

And when the brigade went to war months later, he was on the plane.

“Fred Thompson is a military legend,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey, Fort Carson’s top enlisted soldier. “He made the choice to stay with those soldiers.”

Thompson watched a new commander, Col. John Kolasheski, and a new sergeant major, Kenneth Barteau, take the reins at 2nd Brigade Tuesday. Playing with his grandchildren in retirement seemed kind of a letdown.

“My biggest problem is I’m not going to be around soldiers,” he said. “It’s the best job, to be around soldiers.”