Army officer from Sullivan supports Joint Task Force-National Capital Region
WASHINGTON – U. S. Army Maj. Jacob Hughes, a native of Sullivan, Illinois, is one of more than 800 service members assigned to Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.
JTF-NCR is a joint service command charged with coordinating all military ceremonial support for the 59th Presidential Inauguration. As a joint command, JTF-NCR includes members from all branches of the United States armed forces operating under the auspices of Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region.
Hughes has 20 years of service and currently serves as the JTF-NCR training and exercise branch chief.
Hughes graduated from Sullivan High School in 1999 and continued his education at the University of Illinois, earning his bachelor’s degree in general agriculture in 2004. He decided to join the military to become a better person and leader.
Read Hughes’ full interview below to learn more about his military service and how his family has shaped who he is today:
Q1: Why did you join the military?
A1: There were several reasons. I wanted to serve something greater than myself. I initially went to college to be a teacher and found that the Army provided me the opportunity to teach, as well as challenge myself, and serve something larger. I enlisted in the Army National Guard my freshman year of college. I really enjoyed my experience there, and then joined the ROTC program and got commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in 2014.
Q2: What has been the most rewarding experience of your military career?
A2: There have been so many, but my last job in the Pentagon, I was asked to lead an effort across the whole Department of Defense and it included readiness experts from all the combatant commands, the combat support agencies, the undersecretaries of defense, the services and the Joint Staff. I lead a group of O-6s and GS-15s that were readiness experts through a six-month long assessment of the current readiness measurement. We measured things that we do and how we could make them better so we can have a more accurate picture of readiness across the joint force. It was interesting being a major and leading a group of older and more experienced folks through something like that, and then actually publishing a report to Congress that was signed by the undersecretary of defense for personnel readiness. I’ve got six deployments in some of the worst places ever, and led folks in some pretty harrowing circumstances, but [leading that assessment] was the most recent thing that was interesting.
Q3: What achievement(s) outside of the military are you most proud of and why?
A3: Developing meaningful relationships with people from all over the world, learning and growing from them. Also, being an uncle to two stellar kids that my brother and his wife raised, Alivia and Cooper. I also am a certified captain for boats under 65 feet.
Q4: How did your hometown (family, friends, etc.) shape who you are today?
A4: I think growing up in the middle of a cornfield in central Illinois is very grounding. [People have] good morals and good values. Everybody gets up and works hard. Everybody takes care of their family. That has really shaped me as a human, not just somebody in the Army or an officer, but just showing what right looks like. Fortunately, I grew up around a great set of grandparents and all of the family that lived in Sullivan, Illinois, was setting a great example for me on what family was and what right was. I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to learn from them. Just seeing how my folks were raising me was pretty awesome.
Q5: Do you have family history of military service?
A5: My Great Uncle (mother’s side) was actually one of the first Army Rangers. He served in Korea and WWII.
