Command Sergeant Major
Timothy D. Ayers

Timothy D. Ayers, born 27 October 1953 at Anna Union, Illinois, joined the Army in 1975, completing Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Advanced Industrial Training (AIT) as a Pershing Missile Electrical-Mechanical Repairman at the US Army Missile and Munitions Center and School (USAMMCS), Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. His first assignment, from 1976 to 1979, was with Service Battery, 1st Battalion, 81st Field Artillery, 56th Field Artillery Brigade (Pershing), Neu Ulm, Germany. He was promoted to Sergeant (E-5) in 18 months and served as Chief of the Pershing Electrical Repair Section, a position normally held by a Sergeant First Class.

Ayers returned to USAMMCS as Project NCO, Pershing Section, Training Analysis and Design Division, Land Combat Branch. He developed the Skills Qualification Tests for all skill levels of the Pershing Electrical-Mechanical Repairer specialty. From 1983 to 1986, he returned to Germany as Platoon Sergeant and Section Chief, Pershing Electrical-Mechanical Repair Section, B Company, 55th Maintenance Battalion. In 1986, he returned again to the US Army Ordnance Missile and Munitions Center and School (USAOMMCS) as Senior Instructor and NCOIC of the Maintenance, Operations, and Logistics Section of the Land Combat Training Department, where he revitalized the Field Training Exercise for AIT and Basic and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course students.

In 1989, Ayers was promoted to 1st. Sgt. of Delta Company, 832d Ordnance Battalion at Redstone Arsenal. In 1990, he returned to Germany as First Sergeant of A Company, 55th Support Battalion, and then as First Sergeant of the 23d Ordnance Company, where he played a key role in turning in over 11 million dollars worth of equipment. He returned to USAOMMCS in 1992 as a Chief Instructor and Writer, then attended the Sergeants Major Academy, and returned to USAOMMCS as Sergeant Major of a 130-person training department. He updated all specialty 55B (Ammunition) Army Correspondence Courses and developed a Field Training Exercise for 55B AIT students.

From 1994 to 1995, Ayers served as Command Sgt. Maj. of the 74th Maintenance Battalion, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal but with detachments in 35 locations around the world. He inspected each location to ensure the welfare and proficiency of his Soldiers. In 1995, he was assigned as Command Sergeant Major of the 191st Ordnance Battalion at Miesau, Germany. He deployed his battalion in 1995 to Tazar, Hungary, during Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR, where he served as CSM of the 29th Area Support Group, operating a staging area that processed 132 units.

Ayers next served, from 1998 to 1999, as Command Sgt. Maj. of the 59th Ordnance Brigade, USAOMMCS. In his final assignment, from 1999 to 2003, he served as the Ordnance Corps Regimental Command Sergeant Major at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. During his tenure, he raised the standards of the US Army Ordnance Center and Schools' Noncommissioned Officer Academy, established a Soldier and NCO of the Year program, visited Ordnance schools and units, developed a website dedicated to Ordnance Soldiers, and implemented community support programs. Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Ayers retired in January 2004 after 28 years of distinguished service.