📜 Post with us on Reddit
📝 Create a new article
🏭 Create a company page
🇬🇧 - in English
🇫🇷 - en Français (FR)
🇵🇹 - em Português (PT)
🇩🇪 - auf Deutsch (DE)
🇯🇵 - 日本語で (JA)
Sponsored articles

You can edit almost every page by Creating an account and confirming your email.

Jimmy Blackmon

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki


Jimmy Blackmon
Personal details
Born
Jimmy Franklin Blackmon

(1968-11-04) November 4, 1968 (age 57)
Ranger, Georgia, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Lisa C. Martin (m. 1992)
EducationUniversity of North Georgia (Bachelor of Arts in History)
Old Dominion University (Master of Science in Education
National War College (Master's degree in National Security Strategy (United States))
OccupationAuthor
Managing Partner, Exactus Advisors
Speaker
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1986-2016
RankColonel (United States)
Commands159th Combat Aviation Brigade
7/17th Cavalry Regiment
D/1-1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)
Battles/warsIraq War
War in Afghanistan
Stabilisation Force
Operation Allied Force
AwardsDefense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Afghanistan Campaign Medal (with campaign star)
Bronze Star Medal (4)
Meritorious Service Medal (United States) (with 3 oak leaf clusters)
Air Medal (4)
Army Commendation Medal (with 3 oak leaf clusters)
(More Awards & Decorations)

Jimmy Franklin Blackmon (/blækmən/; born November 4, 1968), is a retired Army Colonel, author, professional speaker, and Managing Partner at Exactus Advisors. Blackmon began his military career in 1986, when he enlisted in the United States Army. He attended the University of North Georgia (then North Georgia College),[1] which is one of the four senior military colleges in the US. During his senior year, Blackmon served as the Commander of the Corps of Cadets, and graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate.

Blackmon was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Aviation in 1991. For the next three decades, he served in various command and staff positions throughout the Army, both in the United States and Europe. Blackmon served two tours of duty in the Balkans. In 1998 he was an operations officer for an Infantry Brigade in Tuzla, Bosnia. In 1999, Blackmon deployed as an operations officer in the Battlefield Coordination Element during Operation Allied Force.

After graduating the Command and General Staff College in 2003, Blackmon reported to the famed 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) where he was assigned as the Operations Officer (S3) for 2-17th Cavalry Regiment. Upon reporting, Blackmon immediately flew to Iraq where 2-17 Cavalry was already operating. While in Iraq, he served as the air mission commander on the operation that netted #2 and #3 in the famous Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards (Iraqi deck of cards).

Blackmon returned to Iraq from 2005 - 2006 as the Secretary of the General Staff in the 101st Airborne Division. In 2008, he was selected to command the 7-17th Cavalry Regiment (Pale Horse). In January 2009, Blackmon deployed to Jalalabad, Afghanistan where he served as the commander of Task Force Pale Horse,[2] which was responsible for all rotary-wing aviation support in the Kunar Province, Nangarhar Province, Laghman Province, and Nuristan Province (N2KL). During that year, Pale Horse was the aviation component in the Battle of Ganjgal and the Battle at COP Keating.[3]

In 2010 - 2011, Blackmon attended the National War College in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Master's degree in National Security Strategy (United States). After the war college, Blackmon was promoted to Colonel and selected to command the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).[4][5]

Once again, Blackmon would return to the Hindu Kush Mountains of eastern Afghanistan. He commanded the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division from 2012 - 2015[6] and was responsible for all rotary-wing aviation support in eastern and northern Afghanistan. Colonel Blackmon was the last commander of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade. Upon his return from Afghanistan, the unit was deactivated.

Blackmon's final assignment in the Army was as the Chief of Joint Operational War Plans Division (J5 Strategy, Plans, & Policy) on the Joint Staff In Washington, DC.

In 2016, Colonel Blackmon retired from the Army to pursue a career as an author, professional speaker, and consultant. Today, Blackmon is a managing partner at Exactus Advisors, a Chicago-based advisory firm, where he heads up the Leadership & Strategy business.[7]

Early life and family

Blackmon was born the son of Carl Edmond Blackmon and Betty Louise Walraven of Ranger, Georgia. They were humble cotton mill workers in Calhoun, Georgia. Because Blackmon's sixth generation grandfather on his mother's side fought in the War of 1812, and his father in the American Revolutionary War, they qualified for the Cherokee Land Lottery. In the 1832 lottery, they drew land along the banks of the Coosawattee River. They settled the land in 1837 and the Walraven's have lived there since.

Blackmon played football, baseball, and basketball growing up, but by the time he was nine years old, he found that he thrived at long-distance running. Blackmon ran the mile and two mile in track and field and was captain of the cross country team at Calhoun High School. In high school, Blackmon became involved in drama and he attributes his skills as a keynote speaker to his years of acting and singing.

Blackmon enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1986. He used the Montgomery G.I. Bill and student loans to pay for college. Blackmon graduated from the University of North Georgia in 1991, and was commissioned a Second lieutenant in aviation. In the thirty years that followed, Blackmon served in various command and staff positions throughout the Army.

Education

Blackmon earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of North Georgia, a Master of Science in Education from Old Dominion University and a Master's degree in National Security Strategy (United States) from the National War College in Washington, D.C. Blackmon is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College.

Military career

Blackmon enlisted in the United States Army Reserves in February 1986. He graduated from University of North Georgia in 1991, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in aviation. Blackmon's first duty assignment was the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, then stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. While assigned to the 3d ACR, Blackmon served as the 4th Squadron (Longknife) training officer, then platoon leader in Pegasus Troop, and finally as the Squadron S1 (Human Resources Officer).

Blackmon was promoted to the rank of captain in December 1995. Upon being promoted, he traveled to Fort Knox, Kentucky where he attended the United States Army Armor School, Officer's Advanced Course. The Army was then fielding the Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior Helicopter. Blackmon was selected for a transition to the Kiowa, so he spent the next four months at Fort Rucker in the aircraft qualification course. Blackmon was on orders to 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (Blackhawk). 1-1 Cavalry had just turned in their Bell AH-1 Cobras and OH-58C helicopters, so Blackmon then traveled to Fort Hood, Texas where he spent a year at the Combat Aviation Training Brigade fielding OH-58D Kiowa helicopters.

In the summer of 1997, Blackmon and his family moved to Gelnhausen, Germany where Blackmon was selected to command Delta Troop, 1-1 Cavalry. After two years of command, Blackmon moved to Hanau, Germany where he served as the Assistant Operations Officer for 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (United States). During the summer of 1998, Blackmon deployed to Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina as a part of NATO's Stabilisation Force to serve as an assistant operations officer for 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (United States).

In 1999, Blackmon was selected to serve as an operations officer for the European Battlefield Coordination Element for Operation Allied Force. Upon return from that assignment, Blackmon moved to northern Virginia where he was assigned as the Operations Officer (S3) of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield, just outside Washington, D.C.

In the summer of 2000, then, Blackmon, was selected to serve as a Board Recorder for the Department of the Army Secretariat. In this assignment Blackmon ran Army promotion and selection boards.

In 2003, Blackmon moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where Blackmon attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College. While at Fort Leavenworth, he was promoted to the rank of Major.

The US Army and coalition forces invaded Iraq in April 2003. Leading the charge for the 101st Airborne Division was 2-17 Cavalry, the 101st Airborne Division's air cavalry squadron. After the initial invasion, 2-17 Cavalry was stationed at Qayyarah Airfield West, just south of Mosul. Blackmon joined the squadron in June 2003, and assumed duties as the Squadron Operations Officer (S3).

Upon return from Iraq in February 2004, Blackmon assumed duties as the Squadron Executive Officer. For the next twelve months, the unit prepared for a return to Iraq. During that time, Major General Thomas R. Turner II selected Blackmon to serve as the Secretary of the General Staff. He would serve in that role for the next eighteen months, including a year based in Tikrit, Iraq.

In the fall of 2006, Blackmon was selected to serve as the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade Operations Officer (S3). In 2007, Blackmon was selected for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Upon being promoted, Blackmon became the Deputy Brigade Commander of the 159th.

In May 2008, Blackmon assumed command of 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Pale Horse). As the unit prepared for deployment to Afghanistan, Blackmon traveled to Eastern Afghanistan for a Pre-deployment Site Survey. The unit 7-17 Cavalry would be replacing at Jalalabad Airfield (FOB Fenty) was Blackmon's previous unit, 2-17 Cavalry. During that visit, the Battle of Wanat occurred in the Waygal Valley.

7-17 Cavalry assumed responsibility of the area know as N2KL in January 2009. N2KL is the acronym for the four provinces that make up the area of provinces: Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman which is the area where the attacks of 9/11 were planned and rehearsed. The 7-17 Cavalry would be involved in the Battle of Ganjgal, where Marine Corps Corporal Dakota Meyer[8] and Army Captain William D. Swenson earned the Congressional Medal of Honor,[9] and the Battle of Wanat, where Sergeant Clinton Romesha earned the Congressional Medal of Honor.

In the summer of 2010, Blackmon was selected to attend the National War College in Washington DC. where he earned a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy. While attending the War College, Blackmon was selected for promotion to the rank of Colonel and to assume command of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

From 2011 - 2012, Blackmon served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the 101st Airborne Division, and in 2012 he assumed command of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The 159th Combat Aviation Brigade assumed responsibility for all rotary-wing aviation support in Regional Command - East (RC-E) and Regional Command - North (RC-N) in January 2014. While in Afghanistan, the unit was notified that upon return to Fort Campbell, Kentucky the brigade would deactivate. In 2015, the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade was deactivated.

Blackmon reported to the Joint Staff in Washington DC in 2015. He served as the Director of Joint Operational War Plans Division in the J5 Plans and Policy. Blackmon led a team of strategists as they developed war plans and policy for the Department of Defense.

In October 2016, Blackmon retired from the US Army to pursue a career as an author and professional speaker.

Retirement from the U.S. Army

Blackmon retired from the Army in 2016.

Dates of rank

Promotions
Rank Date
Private 1986
Private (E-2) 1987
Private First Class 1988
Specialist 1989
Second Lieutenant 1991
First Lieutenant 1993
Captain 1995
Major 2002
Lieutenant Colonel 2007
Colonel 2012

Post military career

Blackmon began speaking professionally in 2016. He uses his combat experiences to tell powerful stories that describe the complexity of the 21st Century environment. He then details how to build teams aligned to a common purpose and vision that embody the organizational characteristics of speed, agility, trust and empowerment, initiative, and innovation. For the next two years, Blackmon traveled the world speaking to business leaders on these subjects. In 2017, Blackmon was selected as the Vistage Breakout Speaker of the Year.

Leadership practice

Driven by demand, Blackmon realized that executives wanted more than just speaking. They wanted a more holistic program that would enable them to transform their businesses in order to become more competitive in the modern era. In December 2019, Blackmon became a managing partner at Exactus Advisors, a Chicago-based firm that solves complex business problems by creating simple practical solutions that drive operational improvement.[10] Today, Blackmon heads up the Leadership & Strategy business at Exactus.

Athletics

Running

Blackmon began running competitively when he was nine-years-old. He placed 7th in The Athletics Congress (TAC) cross country nationals in 1982. He went on to run the mile and 2-mile in high school. Desiring to serve in the military, Blackmon chose to attend University of North Georgia, then North Georgia College, which did not have a track and field program. Upon entering the Army, Blackmon began competing on the All Army and US Armed Forces Teams. Blackmon was a member of the 1998 U.S. Armed Forces World Cross Country, which competed in the World Championships in Curragh, Ireland. He was also 3rd in the 2000 Richmond Marathon running 2 hours 33 minutes.[11]

Archery

Blackmon's father, Carl Blackmon, shot archery competitively, so naturally Blackmon has competed in archery tournaments throughout his life. He has won numerous local, state, and national titles. In 2011, Blackmon won the International Bowhunting Organization World Championship in the Recurve Unaided class.[12] In 2012, he won the International Field Archery Association World Championships in two categories: Adult Male Barebow and Adult Male Bowhunter.[13]

Awards and decorations

Overview

Blackmon is a recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, the Bell Helicopter Leadership Award, and he was the 2017 Vistage International Breakout speaker of the year.

Works

Southern Roots is the story of Blackmon's growing up poor in Northern Georgia. Southern roots run deep. And they survive drought, flood, Depression, and war. Here you will read about one Southern family's extraordinary roots, and how they gave life, joy, and purpose to one man. "Just when you think all the honest writers who captured all the great regions of this country have disappeared and too much American writing these days is shallow stuff, off key, set in the land of nowhere, a writer like Jimmy Blackmon crops up in that fertile literary soil of the South-Wendell Berry, Reynolds Price, Eudora Welty, Faulkner, Harper Lee, Walker Percy and others-reminding us again of the verities and virtues of the true tale, told by a man rooted in place, who sings the South like a hymn. You will find your own voice joining in, page after page." -- Norbert Blei, author of the Door County trilogy and other works.[14] Southern Roots is now out of print, but Blackmon is presently working on an expanded version of the original work.

Pale Horse - Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne Division is Blackmon's second book. Pale Horse is the remarkable never-before-told true story of an army aviation task force during combat in the Afghan War, told by the commanding officer who was there. Set in the very valleys where the attacks of 9/11 were conceived, and where ten Medals of Honor have been earned since that fateful day the war began, the narrative races from ferocious firefights and bravery in battle to the quiet moments where the courageous men and women of Task Force Pale Horse catch their breath before they take to the skies again. Jimmy F. Blackmon writes with a power and hard-hitting honesty that leaps off the page. He has the respect of the men and women of his brigade, and a command of the narrative to tell their story. From pilots of lethal Apache attack helicopters who strike fear in their enemies to the medevac soldiers who risk their lives daily, these are warriors from a variety of backgrounds who learned selflessness and found the closest brotherhood they ever knew through the crucible of war. Pale Horse both honors and commemorates the service of this elite task force from the unique vantage point of the commander who led them in battle. "This is the Afghanistan War as you have never seen it before---the real ground truth---stunning, heartbreaking detail that will drive home to any reader how much we ask of our soldiers physically and mentally---and what they ask from---and give to---each other." - Bob Woodward, bestselling author and associate editor of The Washington Post.[15]

Cowboys Over Iraq - Leadership From the Saddle is Blackmon's third book. Cowboys Over Iraq tells the amazing story of leadership, innovation, and initiative demonstrated by a brotherhood that was forged in the crucible of combat during the invasion of Iraq. “What does it take to fly and fight with America's Air Cavalry? That's the story of Cowboys Over Iraq. You'll meet bold personalities right out of a Hollywood movie. You'll be right there as Jimmy Blackmon and his fellow Cavalry troopers track down and tangle with determined foes. You'll experience the highs of triumph and the lows of bitter loss. Most importantly, you'll see how and why Jimmy Blackmon learned hard-won leadership and battle lessons in the deadly skies of Iraq. Strap in. Hang on. Get ready to go hunting with the Air Cav.” - Daniel P. Bolger, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Retired; Commander, 1st Cavalry Division 2008–2010. “A great read by an exceptional combat aviator, leader, and writer! Jimmy Blackmon captures brilliantly the enthralling story of the air cavalry unit that was the eyes and ears of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during the fight to Baghdad and throughout the first year in Iraq—when I was privileged to command the division. He captures vividly, as well, the courage, skill, and feel for the battlefield of the gifted pilot and commander of the squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Schiller, to whom we turned repeatedly when the missions were the toughest.” - General David Petraeus (U.S. Army, Ret.); Commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Multinational Force-Iraq, US Central Command, and coalition and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

References

 

  1. ↑ "Speaker Series". University of North Georgia. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  2. ↑ APSUAugust 16, Colin Harris; Pm, 2016 1:12. "Former commander of Task Force Pale Horse to speak at APSU". ClarksvilleNow.com. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  3. ↑ Blackmon, Jimmy (2016). Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne Division. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1250072719. Search this book on
  4. ↑ "159th CAB changes hands". www.army.mil. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  5. ↑ "159th Combat Aviation Brigade 'Thunder' Inactivation Ceremony". DVIDS. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  6. ↑ "159th Combat Aviation Brigade cases colors during inactivation ceremony". www.army.mil. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  7. ↑ "Exactus Advisors | Chicago Business Advisory Firm & Management Consulting". Exactus Advisors. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  8. ↑ Epstein, Jennifer. "Kentucky Marine gets Medal of Honor". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  9. ↑ http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "Capt. William D. Swenson awarded Medal of Honor at White House ceremony". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  10. ↑ "Exactus Advisors | Chicago Business Advisory Firm & Management Consulting". Exactus Advisors. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  11. ↑ "Year-By-Year Results". Richmond Marathon. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  12. ↑ "IBO | International Bowhunting Organization - To Promote, encourage and foster the sport of bowhunting". iboscores.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  13. ↑ "2012 Tournament Results". www.ifaa-archery.org. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  14. ↑ "Books by Norbert Blei (Author of Door Way)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  15. ↑ "Bob Woodward". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-12-02.

External links



This article "Jimmy Blackmon" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Jimmy Blackmon. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.


Retrieved from "https://en.everybodywiki.com/index.php?title=Jimmy_Blackmon&oldid=1160376"
License CC BY-SA 3.0
Powered by MediaWiki