Command Sergeant Major Benjamin D. Garner was assigned to serve as North Carolina’s Command Senior Enlisted Leader on 01 February 2021. He represents the Assistant Adjutant General, and advises on matters pertaining to policies and actions that affect enlisted Soldiers.
CSM Benjamin Garner is from Waynesville, NC. He enlisted in the United States Army in June 1993 as a16S Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPAD) Stinger Missile Gunner. While on active duty, he served with the First Armored Division 5/3 ADA in Wackernheim, Germany. While with 5/3 ADA he was deployed as a member of the Peace Implementation Force (IFOR) Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia-Herzegovina for 6 months. Upon separation from active duty, he joined the North Carolina National Guard in 1996 as a 31B Military Policeman with the 211th Military Police Company, Clyde NC. During that period, he held the positions of Military Policeman, Team Leader, and Squad Leader. As a Military Police Officer, he was named the Outstanding Guardsman of the Year for the North Carolina National Guard in 1998.
In December 2001 he was deployed to Afghanistan as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom where he served as a squad leader supporting the 101st Airborne Division. Upon returning home in fall of 2002 he again deployed with the 30th Engineer Brigade as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq supporting the 4th Infantry Division. Upon return from the deployment, CSM Garner was promoted through the ranks of Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeant with the 211th MP Company. Notable achievements while First Sergeant of the 211th MP Company are multiple Hurricane Relief efforts as part of the Rapid Reaction Force and Operation Beyond the Horizon, EL Salvador. In CSM Garner was selected as the Battalion Command Sergeant Major for the 30th Special Troops Battalion/ 236th Brigade Engineer Battalion/30th Armored Brigade Combat Team and was promoted to Command Sergeant Major in 2015. He served as the Battalion Command Sergeant Major during the Modification Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) change from a support to an engineer battalion. Three years later CSM Garner was selected to serve as the Brigade Command Sergeant Major for the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade and would go on to be the North Carolina Command Senior Enlisted Leader.
CSM Garner is a career public educator having earned his Master’s Degree in Teaching from Western Carolina University. He is a graduate of the Primary Leadership Development Course, Military Customs Inspector Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Advanced Non-Commissioned Officers Course, First Sergeant Course, and the United States Sergeants Major Academy. His awards include the Combat Action Badge, Meritorious Service Medal with 3-Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal with the “V” Device, Army Commendation Medal 3-Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal 4-Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, North Carolina Meritorious Service Medal, and the North Carolina State Active Duty Service Ribbon with numeral 4.
CSM Garner is the son of Stephen and Evelyn Garner of Roxboro, North Carolina. He has been married to his wife Amy for 22 years, and they have a daughter Josie and son Jeb.