Congratulations—and our deepest gratitude—to Brigadier General Charles Schoening, former Commander of the 71st Troop Command and current Assistant Adjutant General, on his retirement at Camp Mabry May 1. Gen. Schoening was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal and the Texas Superior Service Medal in honor and recognition of his many years of dedicated service to the state and nation.
Having lived in the Austin area since 1981, the General and his wife Kay were always fans of Georgetown so when they were preparing for their most recent move, Georgetown was top of the list.
As the son of a Command Sergeant Major, Charles was not very interested in military service as a young man. “At age 28, I was a married father of three. I was working full time for the City of Austin and it seemed like a good time to have a part-time job. I went to see a National Guard recruiter and enlisted that day.” Charles was ‘the old guy’ in basic training, but with his college degree, he was sent to Officer Candidate School and came out an Engineer Officer in 1991.
What stands out in his story, aside from his contributions to national defense, is that the General has been hard at work his entire life for family and country. After high school, he went into construction to pay for college, and began serving in the Guard while also working full time for the City of Austin. After 23 years, he retired from the city and moved to the private sector, still maintaining his military service, and even plans to stay with his current employer, Arcadis, after retiring from the Guard. “But,” he adds, “I’m really glad I’ll have some extra time to go fishing.”
THE MISSION
When he joined the Guard, the commitment was still one weekend a month and two weeks a year, but Desert Storm and the Global War on Terrorism changed everything. As an engineer, he provided oversight for construction and improvements in force protection at Camp Mabry, and stood up a National Guard task force for airport security. “I was fortunate that I had really supportive civilian employers. Being called to active duty for a full year after 9/11, and three deployments to the Middle East, was a sacrifice for them as well, but they never complained.”
He has great appreciation for the harmony between his careers. “Having a civilian and military career worked well. Things I learned from one I was able to bring to the other; military leadership lessons allowed me to advance in my civilian career. Likewise, the technical skills I learned in my civilian career supported my combat engineering and knew how to implement necessary improvements.”
The General plans to continue working at Arcadis as Principal in Charge of Central and South Texas operations. He is also looking forward to spending time with his five grandchildren and going to soccer games. “I’m getting all my weekends back, but I am truly honored to have been able to serve in the military for 32 years. Even though I’m retired, that will always be a big part of my life, and my family’s life. We will look back fondly and move to the next chapter to build some new memories.”