Chief Warrant Officer 4 Brian Berry of Bloomington, Company D, 766th Brigade Engineer Battalion, based in Bloomington, was honored for his 38 years of military service in the U.S. Army and Illinois Army National Guard during a retirement ceremony May 2 at the Illinois Military Academy on Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.
“Chief Berry’s legacy isn’t just in his numerous awards, it is in the countless Soldiers he’s mentored, the missions he’s led and the loyalty he’s earned,” said Capt. Allison Johnson, Commander, Company D, 766th Brigade Engineer Battalion.
Johnson thanked Berry’s family, including his parents, Robert and Sally.
“Thank you for raising a leader with integrity and heart,” she said.
Johnson also thanked Berry’s wife, Jenny, for her support during the past decade.
“Your strength is the kind that doesn’t wear a uniform but is carried just as much,” she said. “You’ve held down the house, attended dinners without your husband by your side and stood quietly behind his service with unmatched grace. You didn’t just support your Soldier, you served in your own powerful way.”
Johnson told Berry’s children that their father’s service “inspired us all, but you were his proudest role.”
Johnson also thanked Berry for his leadership throughout the years.
“Your fingerprints are on every formation you touched,” she said. “Your legacy will echo long after today. Your mission is complete and I turn you over to your new commanding officer – your wife, Jenny.”
Berry enlisted in the U.S. Army as an ammunition specialist and was assigned to Company A, 407th Supply and Transportation Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
In 1989, Berry joined the Illinois Army National Guard as a mortarman and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 131st Infantry Regiment.
In 2006, Berry reclassified to human intelligence collector and in 2010 attended Warrant Officer Candidate school. Throughout his career, he has attended many military schools.
In 2005, Berry began in the Active Guard and Reserve program as the training noncommissioned officer for Company B, 1st Battalion, 131st Infantry Regiment.
He has two combat deployments, including with the Bilateral Embedded Staff Team A-11 to Afghanistan in 2013 and with 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment to Afghanistan in 2019.
Berry said that 38 years sounds like a long time.
“It seems like yesterday when I was standing in line with other Soldiers, being yelled at,” he said. “After two years of active duty, 15 years as a traditional Guard member, and more than 20 years in the AGR program, time flies.”
Berry said some of his best memories are not of the places he’s been.
“Some of my best memories are the people I’ve had the honor to serve alongside,” he said. “Being a warrant officer has been one of the highlights of my career. I will always cherish the partners and friendships I’ve made in the warrant officer cohort. The Soldiers in Company D have always made me proud to be a Dawg. It has been an honor and privilege to serve with you.”
Berry thanked his family for their support.
“I wouldn’t be here today without my family,” he said. “My dad taught me to shoot and some of my first road marches were hunting with my dad as a kid.”
Berry said when his daughter, Madison, was born in 2007, she gave him the drive in inspiration to be all he could be.
“I couldn’t have done it without her support,” he said.
He also thanked his wife, Jenny, for her support.
“You have been my rock for the last decade,” he said. “Without you things would have been so much harder. I am truly blessed to have the family I have.”
Berry offered some words of advice to his fellow Soldiers.
“Work hard. Play hard. Live hard. Love hard,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You learn more from your failures than your successes.”
During his retirement ceremony, Berry was presented with the Legion of Merit.