New Army ROTC head cites preparing servant-leaders, good citizens as objective

Lieutenant Colonel Leigh Kennedy has had a full military career. His service—admirable to say the least.

As an infantry platoon leader with Delta Company assigned to the 2^nd Brigade, 82^nd Airborne Division, he served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He later served as brigade assistant S2 and was deployed to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

His military path led him to serve at the Defense Intelligence Agency and eventually at the Pentagon. Along the way, Kennedy has garnered numerous honors and decorations including the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Ukrainian Jump Wings, and the German Armed Forces Badge (Gold). He also received the Honorable Saint Barbara and the Military Intelligence Corps’ Knowlton Awards.

The list barely scratches the surface, one that if you dig a bit further, you discover he’s a husband, father, and a native Southerner, hailing from Alabama. He’s also an officer who is excited about where his 19-year military journey has brought him.

Newly minted as Carson-Newman University’s professor of military science (PMS) in the fall, Kennedy quickly embraced his new role of leading C-N’s ROTC program and Eagle Battalion. It’s a program that since it was established in 1971, has developed a strong reputation over the years, particularly in preparing Army nurses to serve. Though he says the slower change of pace at Mossy Creek is nice, the opportunity is one he takes very seriously.

“The challenges of being a PMS in ROTC are there. But it’s good challenges, because you really are at the tip of the spear when it comes to influence, motivation and inspiring students,” said Kennedy. “It’s such an incredible opportunity, an honor.”

That honor goes hand in hand with a feeling of responsibility of preparing the next generation of leaders. But, according to the ROTC head, the program is uniquely positioned at a place like Carson-Newman to be effective.

A graduate of Bates College in Maine, Kennedy is a product of a small college himself. He notes that the strengths of a small college environment lend itself to many opportunities.

“It’s teaching them to be that servant-leader,” he notes, crediting Carson-Newman. “They’re teaching them how to be good servant-leaders with strong Christian values in their community and in whatever their occupation will be.”

It is this foundation coupled with one of the program’s distinctives that sets cadets up for success.

“This program’s unique because it’s just the right size,” he noted. “There are other programs out there that are just really large— where it’s hard to manage the size while giving cadets the opportunities to be in leadership positions.”

That, according to Kennedy, is where Carson-Newman’s ROTC program shines. Cadets find a multitude of ways to gain leaderships skills and training.

“Even as underclassmen, I have freshmen on the color guard team and the cannon crew, which we have for football games.”

Last summer, Eagle Battalion cadets gained valuable experience at various camps including Air Assault Training, leadership training at West Point, an internship with the JAG Corps at Fort Moore, and Special Forces training with Special Forces Command at Fort Bliss. At Advanced Camp held at Fort Knox, C-N senior cadet Zachary Taylor ranked 394 out of 6,000 other cadets from across the country, placing him in the top 10%.

“That’s incredible,” championed the lieutenant colonel. “What a great thing for Carson-Newman.”

Beyond excelling in training, there’s another goal Kennedy seeks for the battalion. “We want to be good members of the community. We are here in a great community in Jefferson City and the surrounding area. So that’s what we should do.”

Playing such a role has manifested in different ways including supporting local high school ROTC programs and holding a December toy drive for Smoky Mountain Children’s Home.

“It is great for the cadets to see that this is also part of being a leader,” he said. “That’s part of that growth we want to show.”

Seeing cadets grow, excel, and graduate the program as officers is important to him, but for the lieutenant colonel, there’s an overarching hope for the cadets.

“My hope for them is really just to be good people. Of course, we have a mission to make them the next generation leaders and to be good leaders, but I think all of the things we teach them, and all the tools we give them—it’s for them to be good people and to be good citizens. That’s something that shouldn’t stop when you one day hang up the uniform and retire.”