Official Photo
Biography
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Thomas “Gary” Ensminge
Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army National Guard
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Thomas “Gary” Ensminger was appointed the Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army National Guard on October 29, 2012. Before his appointment, Chief Ensminger was the Command Chief Warrant Officer and Force Integration Readiness Officer for the Tennessee Army National Guard. He has served in the Tennessee Army National Guard for 33 years.
Chief Ensminger, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, resides in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. He was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1982 from the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Program at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. Upon Completion of his Military Police Officer Basic Course, Chief Ensminger was assigned to the 130th Rear Area Operation Center in Smyrna, Tennessee. In 1986, Chief Ensminger attended the United States Army Aviation Initial Rotary Wing Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon return from Flight School, he transferred to the Aviation Squadron of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. In 1988 Chief Ensminger joined the Warrant Officer Corps and entered the Active Guard/Reserve program as the full-time Training Officer for the Aviation Squadron in Smyrna, Tennessee. While assigned to the Armored Cavalry Squadron, he served in both training and logistics assignments.
In 2003, Chief Ensminger mobilized and deployed as the Aviation Logistics Officer with Task Force Falcon stationed at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. Upon his return from deployment, he assumed the duties as the Aviation Training Manager in the State Aviation Office of the Joint Forces Headquarters in Nashville. Chief Ensminger also served as the State’s Force Integration Readiness Officer in the J3, Joint Forces Headquarters, where he was responsible for force structure, new equipment fielding and unit readiness.
Chief Ensminger has completed the Warrant Officer Advanced Course, the Warrant Officer Staff Course, Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course, the Aircraft Survivability Equipment/Electronic Course, The Joint Firepower Control Course, the National Interagency Counterdrug Institute, the Aviation Safety Officer Course and the Force Management Course. He has served as the Guest Instructor for the National Guard’s Force Management Course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Chief Ensminger graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Baccalaureate Degree in Sociology and an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice. He is a member of Tennessee Technology University’s ROTC Hall of Fame, as well as an active member of the National Guard Association of Tennessee, the National Guard Association of the United States, the United States Army Warrant Officers Association, Association of the United States Army, and several other Military Associations.
Chief Ensminger has been married to Melanie Carpenter Ensminger of Hendersonville, Tennesse, for 28 years.