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CW5 Wynne, CW5 Griffin, CW5 Swartworth, CW5 Flynn, and CW5 Wigglesworth
are shown in the picture to the left.
On 7 November 2003, we lost a friend and a fellow Warrant Officer, Chief Warrant
Officer Five
Sharon T. Swartworth, the Warrant Officer of the Judge Advocate
General's Corps. She died along with five other soldiers when the Black Hawk in
which she was a passenger was shot down near Tikrit.
She will be sorely missed.
Chief Warrant Officer Five Swartworth was a recent visitor to California and
participated in the 7th Annual California Army National Guard Warrant Officer
Professional Development Course on 4-5 October 2003. She provided an informative
briefing on the subject of the Army Training and Leadership Development Plan.
Chief Warrant Officer Five Swartworth was an innovative and dynamic Warrant
Officer leader. Prior to her interment on 17 November 2003 at Arlington National
Cemetery with full military honors, she was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal at a memorial service in Alexandria, Virginia. The
citation, in part, read:
...During her career, Chief Warrant Officer Swartworth left a legacy of
unsurpassed professionalism, caring, and accomplishments, most notably as the
Director of Operations for Legal Technology, Office of the Judge Advocate
General; Chief Information Management Division, Office of the Staff Judge
Advocate General; and Chief Administration, and Adjutant, United States Army
Legal Services Agency. In each assignment Chief Warrant Officer Five Swartworth
set the highest ethical and professional standards and was widely regarded as
one of the Army's foremost experts on legal technology and training. An
extraordinarily dedicated legal administrator and soldier, Chief Warrant Officer
Five Swartworth 's outstanding contributions and selfless service reflect great
credit upon herself; The Judge Advocate General's Corps and the United States
Army.
Her husband Bill, a Navy Captain, and her 8-year-old son, Billy, survive her.
We ask that you remember Chief Warrant Officer Five Swartworth and her family in
your thoughts and prayers.
(The following was taken from the USAWOA National Website)
Warrant Officer Career Center Building dedicated in Honor of CW5 Swartworth.
 
(Pictured left - Building 5302 dedication plaque --- Pictured
right - COL Enderle, WOCC Commandant & CW5 Meeks,
USAWOA National President unveil the portrait.)
In a ceremony on July 14, 2004, Building 5302, home of the Army Warrant Officer
Career Center at Fort Rucker, AL was dedicated as "Swartworth Hall." The
memorial is in memory of CW5 Sharon T. Swartworth who was killed in action in
Iraq on November 7, 2003. CW5 Swartworth was performing duties as the Judge
Advocate General's Regimental Warrant Officer in a support mission to visit soldiers of the Judge Advocate General's Corps who were stationed in Iraq, when
the UH-60 Black Hawk that she was aboard was shot down near Tikrit. During the
course of the dedication ceremony, USAWOA President CW5 Frank Meeks presented a
painting of Sharon for display in Building 5302.
(The following was taken from an
article in the Army Flier Magazine)
Warrant Officer Career Center
dedicated to fallen Soldier
By SPC Angela Brown
Army Flier Contributor
The building that houses the
Warrant Officer Career Center was dedicated to a former regimental warrant
officer for the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and named Swartworth Hall July 14 to honor the
fallen Soldier.
CW5 Sharon T. Swartworth was
killed while engaged in a support mission to visit troops during Operation Iraqi
Freedom Nov. 7, 2003. The UH-60 Black Hawk she was aboard was shot down by enemy
fire.
Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Romig,
commanding general, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and CW5 Brian L.
Peterson,
command chief warrant officer, California National Guard, spoke at the
dedication ceremony.
Romig began his remarks by
thanking everyone in WOCC for making the dedication possible.
“When we lost (Swartworth) an
important part of the heart and soul of our small JAG family was taken from us,” Romig said. “We are healing, but the loss is still one we feel everyday, and
your actions here today are a part of that healing. The process that we are
undergoing today has helped tremendously by knowing that (her) memory will be
kept alive here at the Warrant Officer Career Center, and the Judge Advocate
General’s Corps appreciates that greatly.”
Romig praised Swartworth during
his remarks.
“Sharon Swarworth was a great
Soldier, warrant officer and a wonderful person,” said Romig. “Sharon made more
of an impact on our JAG warrant officers and our JAG Corps than anybody who has
ever had that job of the regimental warrant officer. She was the face and the
personification of Army JAG warrant officers both inside and outside our corps.
She performed that mission magnificently.”
Peterson added, “Sharon
possessed that most essential warrant officer quality -- leadership --
and she executed it brilliantly.”
“There is no more fitting way to
honor and keep alive Sharon’s memory than to commemorate
this building, a place
were we grow warrant officer leaders, in her name,” Peterson said.
“As future
leaders pass through Swartworth Hall, those future leaders will learn
vicariously
what we know today: Sharon Swartworth was a warrant officer leader
who selflessly
performed her duties and made the sacrifice of all sacrifices.”
According to Col. Richard A.
Enderle, former WOCC commandant, no officer had
more energy or desire to do the
right thing or more heart that Swartworth.
The ceremony closed with the
unveiling of an interior and exterior plaque, which will be displayed at Swarworth Hall. In addition to the plaques, a portrait of
Swartworth was
presented. The portrait will also be on display.
Swartworth was first selected to
become a legal administrator in the JAG Corps in 1985. She served in a variety
of assignments before being selected as the warrant
officer of the JAG Corps in
1999. Swartworth’s position included all matters of concern to warrant officers
who are legal administrators in the Army.
Swartworth’s awards include the
Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf
clusters, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with
seven oak leaf clusters,
Army Achievement Medal, Parachutist Badge,
Army Reserve Achievement Medal and
Army Staff Identification Badge.
Chief Warrant Officer Five Sharon T. Swartworth was born in
Providence, Rhode Island in 1959 and grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Chief Swartworth enlisted in the US Army in 1977 and completed Basic Training at
Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Gordon,
Georgia. Her initial assignment, after graduation from Multichannel
Communications Equipment Operator Course at Fort Gordon, was as a Personnel
Administration Specialist with the 50th Signal Battalion (Airborne), Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. She also served as a Personnel Administration Specialist with
the 304th Signal Battalion, Korea.
In 1981, Chief Swartworth completed the Legal Specialist Course and served as a
Legal Specialist with the 16th Signal Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas. She completed
the Court Reporting Course at the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island
in 1982. Her other enlisted assignments include: Legal Specialist/Court
Reporter, 110th JAG Detachment, Fort Carson, Colorado; and Legal
Specialist/Court Reporter, 1st Army, Fort Meade, Maryland. Chief Swartworth
attained the rank of Sergeant First Class prior to her appointment as a warrant
officer.
Chief Swartworth was selected to become a Legal Administrator in the Judge
Advocate General's Corps in 1985. As a Legal Administrator, she has served in a
variety of assignments including: Training, Advising, and Counseling (TAC)
Officer, Warrant Officer Candidate School, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; IMA Legal
Administrator, Special Forces Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Legal Assistance Task Force/Desert Storm, Office of the Judge Advocate General,
Washington, DC; Legal Service Study Group, Office of the General Counsel,
Washington, DC; Legal Administrator, Presidio of San Francisco, California;
Legal Administrator, US Army Litigation Center, Arlington, Virginia; Legal
Administrator, US Army Legal Services Agency; and Director of Operations for
Legal Technology, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Arlington, Virginia.
In June 1999, Chief Swartworth was selected as the Warrant Officer of the Judge
Advocate General's Corps. On 21 July 1999, she assumed that position, serving as
the primary advisor to the Judge Advocate General of the Army, in all matters
concerning Legal Administrators in the United States Army. She continues to
serve as the Director of Operations for Legal Technology, Office of the Judge Advocate General.
Chief Swartworth is a graduate of the Warrant Officer Advanced Course; Training,
Advising, and Counseling (TAC) Officer Certification Course; Legal Administrator
Course; Unit Administrator Course; Unit Maintenance Course; Warrant Officer
Professional Development Course; Airborne Training Course; Master Fitness
Course, Northern Warfare Training (Alaska); and the Instructor Certification
Course. She also holds a secondary MOS of Military Personnel Technician (420A).
Chief Swartworth's awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious
Service Medal (with 3
Oak Leaf Clusters), Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal (with
7 Oak
Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Achievement Medal, Army
Staff Identification Badge and Parachutist Badge. Other decorations include the
Overseas Service Ribbon, National Defense Service
Ribbon, NCO Professional
Development Ribbon, and Army Service Ribbon. |
On 3 Aug 2004, we lost a friend and a fellow
Warrant Officer, CW5 William Scott,
age 60. He is survived by his wife Jan, sons Chuck and David, daughters
Jennifer,
Rochelle and Theresa, and many grandchildren.