Michele S. Jones
Encyclopedia
Michele S. Jones was the first woman in the United States Army Reserve
to reach the position of command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Reserve. She was the first female non-commissioned officer
to serve in the highest enlisted position of a component of the U.S. Army, active or reserve, and was at one time the highest-ranking African-American
female enlisted person in any branch of the United States military, as well as the highest-ranking enlisted African American in the Army Reserve.
Jones serves as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
.
. She grew up in the Baltimore
area. She is a graduate of Milford Mill Academy
. She was for a time a Baltimore Colts cheerleader. At Fayetteville State University
, she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science
degree in business administration.
Jones originally joined the U.S. Army because she "liked the uniform" and because none of her friends were joining—she reports that she has "always been an independent thinker". She said she took the advertising slogan to heart, "Be All You Can Be In The Army", and enlisted in September 1982. In her 1997–1998 class of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy
, she became the first female selected as class president.
On 28 October 2002, Jones stepped into the role of Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Reserve, to serve as the principal representative of the enlisted ranks, adviser to the chief of the Army Reserve. She traveled the world, seeking out and initiating solutions to U.S. Army and Army Reserve enlisted personnel resource problems. She served state-side on active duty assignments during the Kosovo War
as well as during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and the Global War on Terrorism.
Ebony magazine
featured a portrait and short biography of Jones in June 2003, on a one-page monthly feature entitled "Speaking of People". The next month, Jones was honored with the Meritorious Service Award by the NAACP
. Jones was pictured in Essence
magazine in April 2005 in a photographic essay entitled "The Beautiful Ones: 35 of the Most Remarkable Women in the World", showing 35 African-American women worthy of note.
In her meetings with Army Reservists, Jones often emphasized the basics, such as physical fitness, even for those soldiers who were able to complete their assigned tasks without passing physical fitness examinations. At the Sheridan Army Reserve Center in northwest Baltimore in 2006, she actively demonstrated her stance on the matter to the enlisted leaders of the 80th Division. She slid her body underneath a chair and addressed them from that position: "Let's say you're a soldier and you're a mechanic and you need to get under this Humvee
. If you're not physically fit, you may not be able to fit under the vehicle."
Jones was invited to speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
. On 27 August, she delivered her text, an endorsement of then-Senator Barack Obama
. In her speech, she shared her projection of how Obama would serve as commander-in-chief of the military, supporting the common soldier. She said, "He'll fully fund the VA, so all our returning heroes get the quality care they deserve. And when it comes to the national shame of too many homeless veterans, Barack Obama has one simple policy: Zero tolerance."
On 19 May 2009, she was among the four American women given the 2009 Spirit of Democracy Award by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. The other awardees were California Representative
Barbara Lee
, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph
and magazine editor Susan Taylor.
A supporter of Barack Obama since his campaign for president, Jones serves him in a civilian role as the Special Assistant to Robert Gates
, the United States Secretary of Defense
. In this position, Jones is the Pentagon
-based liaison to the White House
. Jones's name was in the news in December 2009 when Tareq and Michaele Salahi, a prominent Washington couple, gained access to the White House without invitation
. News agencies discovered that Jones was a Facebook
friend of Paul W. Gardner, the attorney of the Salahis, and that Jones exchanged email notes with the couple, telling them she was putting them on a waiting list in case tickets became available for a state dinner with the President and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
. The couple went to the dinner and enjoyed themselves, only to be discovered the next day after Michaele Salahi mounted her photos of the event on her Facebook page. Leading up to the evening, Jones repeatedly told the Salahis that she had no tickets for them. She released an official White House statement saying "I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance or access to any part of the evening’s activities. Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come."
, and she exercises using the regimen Tae Bo
. She is divorced, and has two children.
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
to reach the position of command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Reserve. She was the first female non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
to serve in the highest enlisted position of a component of the U.S. Army, active or reserve, and was at one time the highest-ranking African-American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
female enlisted person in any branch of the United States military, as well as the highest-ranking enlisted African American in the Army Reserve.
Jones serves as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
.
Army career
Jones was born 24 November 1963 in Randallstown, MarylandRandallstown, Maryland
Randallstown is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate crossroads on the Liberty Turnpike, a major east-west...
. She grew up in the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
area. She is a graduate of Milford Mill Academy
Milford Mill Academy
Milford Mill Academy is a four-year public high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the west side of the county close to the Baltimore City border just outside of the Baltimore Beltway.-About the School:...
. She was for a time a Baltimore Colts cheerleader. At Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University is a historically black, regional university located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. FSU is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.-Academics:The primary...
, she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in business administration.
Jones originally joined the U.S. Army because she "liked the uniform" and because none of her friends were joining—she reports that she has "always been an independent thinker". She said she took the advertising slogan to heart, "Be All You Can Be In The Army", and enlisted in September 1982. In her 1997–1998 class of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy
United States Army Sergeants Major Academy
The United States Army Sergeants Major Academy was established on July 1, 1972 at Fort Bliss, Texas, and began instruction in January 1973. Its curriculum is designed to broaden the student's current knowledge base...
, she became the first female selected as class president.
On 28 October 2002, Jones stepped into the role of Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Reserve, to serve as the principal representative of the enlisted ranks, adviser to the chief of the Army Reserve. She traveled the world, seeking out and initiating solutions to U.S. Army and Army Reserve enlisted personnel resource problems. She served state-side on active duty assignments during the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
as well as during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and the Global War on Terrorism.
Ebony magazine
Ebony (magazine)
Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
featured a portrait and short biography of Jones in June 2003, on a one-page monthly feature entitled "Speaking of People". The next month, Jones was honored with the Meritorious Service Award by the NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
. Jones was pictured in Essence
Essence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
magazine in April 2005 in a photographic essay entitled "The Beautiful Ones: 35 of the Most Remarkable Women in the World", showing 35 African-American women worthy of note.
In her meetings with Army Reservists, Jones often emphasized the basics, such as physical fitness, even for those soldiers who were able to complete their assigned tasks without passing physical fitness examinations. At the Sheridan Army Reserve Center in northwest Baltimore in 2006, she actively demonstrated her stance on the matter to the enlisted leaders of the 80th Division. She slid her body underneath a chair and addressed them from that position: "Let's say you're a soldier and you're a mechanic and you need to get under this Humvee
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle , better known as the Humvee, is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller Jeeps such as the M151 MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV,...
. If you're not physically fit, you may not be able to fit under the vehicle."
Post-military career
The year 2007, she was profiled in American Black Military Leaders, a book by Walter Lee Hawkins.Jones was invited to speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
. On 27 August, she delivered her text, an endorsement of then-Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. In her speech, she shared her projection of how Obama would serve as commander-in-chief of the military, supporting the common soldier. She said, "He'll fully fund the VA, so all our returning heroes get the quality care they deserve. And when it comes to the national shame of too many homeless veterans, Barack Obama has one simple policy: Zero tolerance."
On 19 May 2009, she was among the four American women given the 2009 Spirit of Democracy Award by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. The other awardees were California Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, and activist.-Personal life:Raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island, New York, Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut to an African American father and a Jamaican mother. Sheryl attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY...
and magazine editor Susan Taylor.
A supporter of Barack Obama since his campaign for president, Jones serves him in a civilian role as the Special Assistant to Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
, the United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
. In this position, Jones is the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
-based liaison to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Jones's name was in the news in December 2009 when Tareq and Michaele Salahi, a prominent Washington couple, gained access to the White House without invitation
2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches
On November 24, 2009, Michaele and Tareq Salahi , a married couple from Virginia, and Carlos Allen , attended a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, allegedly without being invited guests. The Salahis and Allen arrived separately and did not appear to have colluded in...
. News agencies discovered that Jones was a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
friend of Paul W. Gardner, the attorney of the Salahis, and that Jones exchanged email notes with the couple, telling them she was putting them on a waiting list in case tickets became available for a state dinner with the President and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
. The couple went to the dinner and enjoyed themselves, only to be discovered the next day after Michaele Salahi mounted her photos of the event on her Facebook page. Leading up to the evening, Jones repeatedly told the Salahis that she had no tickets for them. She released an official White House statement saying "I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance or access to any part of the evening’s activities. Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come."
Personal life
Jones has been reported as living in Washington, D.C. in 2003 and in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. She enjoys traveling, skiing, dancing to salsa musicSalsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, and she exercises using the regimen Tae Bo
Tae Bo
Tae Bo is an aerobic exercise routine that became popular in the 1990s. It was developed by taekwondo practitioner Billy Blanks and was one of the first "cardio-boxing" programs to enjoy commercial success. Such programs use the motions of martial arts at a rapid pace designed to promote fitness...
. She is divorced, and has two children.