Veteran of the Week: Tommy Whitten

Tommy Whitten (Contributed)

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By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer 

MADISON – After graduating from Bradshaw High School in the Shoals area of Alabama in 1969, Whitten enlisted in the United States Army the following year with hopes of making a career in the active duty designation of the Army.

Whitten went through basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., in 1970 and went through advanced individual training at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga., where he trained at the radio relay and carrier attendant school at the installation.

After spending some time back home, Whitten then went to Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy. Whitten said he planned to use his commission to then become an officer in the active-duty area of the Army.

“As it turned out, with the big drawdown after Vietnam, there wasn’t much room, so I stuck with the National Guard,” he said.

As Whitten described it, the National Guard had him obligated to one weekend per year initially but “became more as I got my command positions.”

In addition to the regular obligations, Whitten also traveled the world, including working 3-4 week exercises held overseas in Korea, Japan and Germany.

The National Guard was also activated during the Gulf War, so Whitten spent “almost a year” overseas in Saudi Arabia after the start of the air war through Operations Desert Storm and the end of active combat hostilities. During this time, Whitten was the electronics and communications staff officer for an ordnance group.

Whitten spent a total of 30 years in the National Guard in Alabama, bouncing among different groups in Decatur, Opelika and other cities.

“I think it did provide me opportunities for me to go to places I wouldn’t have normally gone,” Whitten said.