 Command Sergeant Major Thomas R. Capel, a native of Ellerbe, N.C., graduated from Richmond Senior High School and attended Richmond Community College. He entered military service on Oct. 26, 1977 and completed basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and the 11B (Infantry) Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Ga. His first assignment was with the 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.
Command Sergeant Major Capel has had a diverse career with assignments and positions from Fort Kobbe, Panama, serving as an infantry squad leader, to Fort Jackson, S.C., serving as a senior drill sergeant. He reported back to Fort Bragg, N.C., in 1987 and assumed duty as an Instructor and later as a
senior instructor with the XVIII Airborne Corps Noncommissioned Officer Academy. In 1989, he continued his duties at Fort Bragg as a platoon sergeant and operations sergeant with the Alpha Company 2-505 PIR, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.
In 1993, he was assigned to the U.S. Army Europe’s 7th Army Headquarters Brigade as the operations sergeant, with duty at Ramstein Airbase, Germany and then returned to Fort Bragg, N.C., where he served as First Sergeant for Bravo and Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Headquarters Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and later as the first sergeant for Bravo Company, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. In 1998, he was assigned to the 1st Region ROTC as the Military SCI Instructor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. He was further assigned to the Task Force Mechanized Battalion as an Active Component/Reserve Component Battalion Command Sergeant Major. In September 2001, Command Sergeant Major Capel was reassigned to Fort Bragg, N.C., where he served as the battalion and brigade command sergeant major in the 1st Brigade, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division. He was selected in May 2006 as the 22nd command sergeant major of the 82nd Airborne Division. He has deployed five times, including one deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the brigade command sergeant major of the 1st Brigade, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and four deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as the Combined Joint Task Force 82/RC East command sergeant major.
Command Sergeant Major Capel has held every duty position within the scope of his primary career field: rifleman; team leader; squad leader; drill sergeant, NCO Education System instructor; operations sergeant; ROTC instructor; first sergeant, battalion, regimental, division and United States Army Europe Command Sergeant Major.
Command Sergeant Major Capel has earned numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit (1 oak leaf cluster), the Bronze Star Medal (three oak leaf clusters), the Meritorious Service Medal (three oak leaf clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (nine oak leaf clusters), the National Defense Service Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon (with numeral 4), the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Drill Sergeant Badge, the Combat Infantry Badge (2nd award), and the Master Parachutist Badge.
Command Sergeant Major Capel is married to Marissa, a retired sergeant major. The Capels have three children. |
