Ga. ARNG Welcomes 11th State Command Sergeant Major at Ceremony

By Maj. William Carraway, Historian, Georgia National Guard

Command Sergeant Major Jeff Logan and Command Sergeant Major John Ballenger, the 10th and 11th State Command Sergeant Major of the
Georgia Army National Guard. Photos by Maj. William Carraway.

 

Command Sergeant Major Jeff Logan relinquished responsibility as the Georgia Army National Guard’s State Command Sergeant Major during a ceremony May 6, 2023 at Dobbins Air Force Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. Command Sergeant Major John Ballenger assumed responsibility as the 11th State Command Sergeant Major of the Ga. ARNG.

 

State Command Sgt. Major Jeff Logan visits
Ga. ARNG Soldiers in Atlanta June 3, 2020.
Photo by Maj. William Carraway

The ceremony marked the culmination of Logan’s 40-year military career as he embarks on retirement. Logan enlisted in the United States Army in April 1983 and served initially as an M1A1 tank crewman. Near the end of his eight years of active Army service, Logan mobilized overseas during the Gulf War. In February 1991, Logan enlisted in the Georgia National Guard’s Company C, 878th Engineer Battalion in Lyons, Ga. He rose through the ranks while serving in the 878th as a heavy equipment operator, team leader and squad leader.

 

Logan deployed to Iraq in March 2003 as a platoon sergeant with Company A, 878th Engineer Battalion. Upon returning to the United States he was promoted and assigned as first sergeant of the 877th Engineer Company which was converted from the former Company B, 878th Engineer Battalion.

 

Logan oversaw the transition of the 877th as the search and extraction element under Joint Task Force 781st Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives. In December 2010, Logan deployed to Afghanistan where the 877th conducted combat engineer missions in three separate regional commands.

 

First Sergeant Jeff Logan and Soldiers of the 877th Engineer Company attend a ceremony December 13, 2010 in Augusta to mark
the unit’s deployment to Afghanistan. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Upon returning from Afghanistan, Logan was advanced to the rank of command sergeant major and assigned as the senior enlisted leader of the 878th Engineer Battalion which deployed to Afghanistan in 2013. During their deployment, Soldiers of the 878th conducted route clearance operations over a wide area of Afghanistan providing freedom of movement to coalition partners and ensuring the safety of Afghan citizens. Additionally, the 878th trained Soldiers of the Afghan National Army in demolitions and explosives eradication. The 878th returned home in January 2014.

 

State Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Logan Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Baker, senior enlisted leader of the Augusta-based 878th Engineer Battalion
Sept. 1, 2021, at the unit’s headquarters where engineers from across the state assembled prior to mobilization to Louisiana in response
to Hurricane Ida. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

Logan was assigned as the command sergeant major for the rear detachment of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team after returning from Afghanistan, and in December 2014, assumed responsibility as the senior enlisted leader of the 48th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, which converted to form the 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion. Transferring to the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in 2016, Logan deployed with the 648th Military Engagement Team which operated throughout the Central Command area of responsibility.

 

Returning from his fifth deployment, Logan was assigned as the command sergeant major for the 201st Regional Support Group. He served as the senior enlisted leader of the 201st RSG rear detachment until appointed to serve as the tenth State Command Sergeant Major of the Georgia Army National Guard in July 2019.

 

State Command Sgt. Major Jeff Logan briefs Guardsmen of the Monroe-based 178th Military Police Company at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Marietta, Ga.,
 before their departure to the country of Georgia to participate in exercise Agile Spirit 19 on July 23, 2019. Photo by Spc. Tori Miller.

Logan’s tenure as State Command Sergeant Major saw unprecedented mobilization of the Ga. ARNG in support of overseas and domestic operations. Nearly 2,000 of Georgia’s Citizen-Soldiers mobilized overseas to all six geographic combatant commands. In Georgia, Guardsmen conducted missions of unprecedented scope as part of the state’s coordinated response to the Coronavirus pandemic and augmented law enforcement agencies during civil unrest in Atlanta and Washington D.C.

 

State Command Sgt. Major Jeff Logan confers with an Atlanta Police Department officer during a protest in Atlanta June 2, 2020.
Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

Succeeding Logan is Command Sgt. Major John Ballenger who has extensive experience in leadership and operations. Born and raised in Georgia, Ballenger enlisted in the Army in 1995. Ballenger served initially as a cannon crewman with the 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In 2001, Ballenger joined the Georgia Army National Guard as an infantryman with Company H, 121st Infantry Long Range Surveillance. Transferring to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, Ballenger deployed to Iraq as part of the 48th Brigade’s 2005 mobilization.

 

Staff Sgt. John Ballenger hugs his son during a premobilization ceremony in 2005. Photo courtesy of Command Sgt. Major John Ballenger.

Following the establishment of the 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade in 2007, Ballenger was assigned to Troop B, 3rd Squadron 108th Cavalry Regiment where he served as a platoon sergeant and later first sergeant. For the next decade, Ballenger served as first sergeant for the 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Headquarters Troop and Troop A of the 3-108th, and the 165th Quartermaster Company. 

Captain Craig Henderson and 1st Sgt. John Ballenger, command team of the 165th Quartermaster Company in 2015. Photo courtesy of Command Sgt. Major Ballenger.

Promoted to sergeant major, Ballenger mobilized to Afghanistan from 2018-2019 as operations sergeant major for the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. 

Command Sgt. Major John Ballenger with Afghan National Security Forces during the 48th IBCT's deployment to Afghanistan from 2018-2019.
Photo courtesy of Command Sgt. Major John Ballenger.

Upon returning from Afghanistan, Ballenger was assigned to the 1-108th, as operations sergeant major and later served as the squadron command sergeant major. In 2022, Ballenger accepted responsibility as command sergeant major of the 48th IBCT.

Colonel Jason Baker, commander of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, passes the noncommissioned officer’s sword to Command Sgt. Major
John Ballenger, incoming brigade command sergeant major of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Jan. 9, 2021. Photo by Capt. Bryant Wine.