Hollis Armstrong is a self-described country boy; he played high school football and never gave much thought to attending college, so shortly after graduation, he joined the Army.
The Moulton, Alabama native reported for basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in December 1985 and then completed his Advanced Individual Training here at Redstone Arsenal. The following year, the newly minted ammunition supply specialist loaded up his motorcycle and drove it more than 800 miles to his first assignment at Fort Cavazos, Texas, known then as Fort Hood.
Armstrong was stationed with the 13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command and worked at the ammunition supply point near Robert Gray Army Airfield on West Fort Cavazos. While there, he earned several Army Achievement Medals and caught the eye of his leadership.
“I had a lieutenant that invested a lot of time in me,” he said. “He saw something in me.”
After rising to the rank of corporal, Armstrong received orders for the 184th Ordnance Company in Germany. He worked at a permanent supply point, which stocked ammunition to be used during wartime.
“Our mission wasn't really that strenuous the first few years,” Armstrong said. “Then the Gulf War kicked off, and we were 24/7 for about 10 months.”
Armstrong’s unit received a Presidential Unit Citation for their support and efforts. He was stationed in Germany from 1987 until 1991, and thanks to social media, he is still in contact with many of the Soldiers from his unit.
He fondly recalls his time in Germany — from the unit to the people to the culture to the historical events that occurred during his time there. He witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and said he remembers seeing the people come across the border wide-eyed and full of hope.
Armstrong served in the Army for seven years before being medically discharged for a knee injury sustained during a late-night fall while loading rail cars.
Following his military career, Armstrong worked his way up from production to management at a rubber company and then started his own transportation company, which he ran for five years. He said he was hauling cargo in Portland, Oregon, when he received a call from the Department of Veterans Affairs that changed the trajectory of his life.
The lady on the phone said that Armstrong was entitled to vocational rehabilitation as a disabled veteran, and the VA would pay for him to attend college. He said, “Sign me up!”
He attended classes online while averaging 3,000 miles weekly with his transportation company. About seven months after graduating college, Armstrong interviewed and was selected for the Army Materiel Command Fellows Program. The five-year program required him to earn his master’s degree, which he did. The remainder of the program placed each fellow with a command, and Armstrong likened it to the football draft.
He and another fellow were selected to work at the United States Army Test, Measurement, and Diagnostic Equipment Activity in the fall of 2008; Last month they celebrated their 16th year with USATA, a subordinate element of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.
Armstrong is now a senior logistician.
“We are the entry point for all the program offices going through material release,” he said. “They have to get a supportability statement from USATA stating that all their TMD is supportable, and we work through all that to ensure they're supported.”
Armstrong said he enjoys traveling in his free time, and with seven children and nine grandchildren, he travels often to see all of them. He and his wife are active in their church and raise miniature dachshunds.
At heart, Armstrong is still the country boy from Moulton who fell into the military. Only now does he understand that while he did not know it when he was 18, there was always a plan for him.
“I never had the confidence that I was anything special or that I would ever achieve anything special,” Armstrong said. “I didn't invest in myself early on, but the Army taught me that I could do anything, and because of that, I started investing in myself. Now, I influence or help influence large acquisition projects that will support and sustain the Army for a very long time. When I was young, I never envisioned myself having that capability, and so if I could go back to myself at 16-17-18 years old, I would say, you know, through Christ, all things are possible. Invest in yourself.”