Command Sergeant Major
Lorenzo G. Alejo

Lorenzo "Larry" Alejo, born November 20, 1947, in Hotsprings, New Mexico, joined the Army in 1967. Following basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and advanced individual training (AIT) at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland, he went to South Vietnam in 1968, serving in the 136th Light Maintenance Company's Artillery Support Team at the height of the TET Offensive. His expertise in vehicle recovery operations saved the lives of two Soldiers pinned under an armored personnel carrier.

Returning to the United States in 1969, Alejo served at White Sands Missile Range as the Maintenance Shop Foreman. He then went to Korea in 1971 to be Battalion Motor Sergeant in the 1/73d Armor. His next assignment, from 1972 to 1977, was Instructor on the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier and M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer in the 2d Battalion, School Brigade, US Army Ordnance Center and School (USAOC&S) at APG. He then went to Schweinfurt, Germany, to serve as Battalion Motor Sergeant for the 2/64th Armor, where he instituted a maintenance training program, improved parts requisitioning procedures, and enhanced maintenance troubleshooting.

In 1979 Alejo returned to the United States as a Senior Instructor in the 3d Battalion, 5th Training Brigade, Fort Dix, New Jersey, training wheeled vehicle mechanics. From 1981 to 1982, he served as a First Sergeant in the 203d Military Intelligence Battalion at APG followed by a tour as First Sergeant of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Battalion, School Brigade, USAOC&S, at Edgewood, Maryland, from 1982 to 1984. He then returned to Germany in 1985 as First Sergeant of D Company, 4th Main Support Battalion, 8th Infantry Division, at Baumholder where his 250-Soldier company provided direct support maintenance for all of the Division's weapons systems and vehicles. In 1986, he stepped in as acting Command Sergeant Major (CSM) for the Division's 2d Forward Support Battalion. He continued to serve in Germany as Sergeant Major in the Directorate of Logistics, 543d Area Support Group, responsible for coordinating supply, maintenance, transportation, and logistical services for the Norddeutschland Military Community.

Returning to Fort Dix in 1987, he served as CSM of the 36th Transportation Battalion, where he was responsible for training more than 5,000 Soldiers a year as wheeled vehicle operators. He coordinated with installation agencies to ensure the safe and expeditious movement of as many as 630 wheeled vehicles a day between the unit's motorpools and the driving ranges.

Command Sergeant Major Alejo retired in 1989, but that did not end his service to the Army and the Ordnance Corps. Since his retirement, he has been the S-4 for the 61st Ordnance Brigade at APG, supervising 60 military and civilian personnel, providing organizational and direct support maintenance, managing more than 100 facilities, and maintaining a $385 million property book. He has amassed 39 years of dedicated military and civilian service.