VETERANS DAY | Neal enjoyed two careers in soil conservation and military service

Anderson Neal has had two careers — in soil conservation and military service
Anderson Neal has had two careers — in soil conservation and military service

TEXARKANA, Ark. - Although Anderson Neal Jr., had a successful 38-year career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service, he sensed that he was missing something in life a few years into his chosen vocation.

"I was looking down the road of my life and I knew that the military had good retirement benefits and I was also looking forward to serving the country," the Retired Arkansas Air National Guard lieutenant colonel said. That's when he decided to have what basically amounted to a double career.

Born in Augusta, Arkansas, Neal, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1978, went on to work for the USDA's Soil Conservationist Service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service). But working outdoors and in the soil wasn't necessarily new to Neal.

"We (during his childhood) were sharecroppers and we raised cotton, chickens and hogs," Anderson, who finished public school in 1974, said.

Neal's civilian, post-college occupation included providing technical and financial advice and assistance to farmers and ranchers. Subjects ranged from soil irrigation, water quality, soil erosion and natural resource issues. He would finish his civilian career as deputy director of the USDA's Office of Advocacy and Outreach in Washington, D.C., in 2016.

By 1985, however, Neal's quest for wanting to serve the country prompted him to join the Arkansas Air National Guard - a move that actually wasn't his first foray into military service.

"As a freshman at ASU I joined the ROTC for a year, but not long after I got out of college, I felt like I was missing something by not being in the military." Neal said. "In 1985, I was at Fort Smith where my wife was teaching public school and they had an Air National Guard recruiter there. He was speaking to her second-grade class and her whole class had their picture taken while they were standing in front of an Air National Guard jet fighter plane. The National Guard recruiter took the photo, so I went to the base office to talk to him, and at that time, he let me know what kind of military positions they had open. We talked about maintenance and he showed me the inside of the cockpit, and from there on I was hooked. I was still just 29 years old at the time, so I filled out the paperwork, got sworn in and I took basic training."

Even though Neal already had a civilian job with the USDA, he said he wanted to learn some new skills that might come in handy in the future.

Following basic training as well as 14 weeks of aircraft maintenance training, Neal began with the rank of airman first-class and started working in aircraft mechanics on such fighter jets as the F-4 Phantom and the newer F-16 Falcon, as well as on the C-130 Hercules troop and cargo transport. He also earned enlisted promotions to senior airman and staff sergeant before eventually becoming an air crew chief by 1986 for the 188th Fighter Wing, stationed near Fort Smith.

Neal would go on to earn an officer's commission as a second lieutenant in 1989, moving from aircraft maintenance to vehicle maintenance. He served at various times in transportation and logistics while stationed with the 188th near Fort Smith as well as in other parts of the world.

"We were twice deployed to Germany for logistics training, as well as to Turkey in 1996 and Denmark in the late 1990s," he said.

However, the 9/11 terrorist attacks would eventually lead Neal to being stationed at even more outposts, both domestically as well as overseas.

"That morning (Sept. 11, 2001) I was working at my civilian job in a USDA conference room, in west Little Rock," Neal said. "We were working on statewide programming and getting some management training when we heard the news. That's when everything stopped and I went back to my office and got on the phone to our base in Fort Smith. I was told to report back to base so I left Little Rock and when I got back, people were already working on the planes - and in the days that followed, we were all on special alert."

During those days in the wake of 9/11, Neal, who by that time had been promoted to major, received deployment to other places throughout the United States.

"We were deployed to states like Georgia and Missouri - mostly to look out after other aircraft - and we were also put on special alert to pay attention to any flying aircraft not responding properly to radio commands and coded signals," he said.

The Pentagon eventually deployed Neal to Saudi Arabia in 2006 to practice air operations with both NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) member nations and other foreign allies, as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

"The sand and the dust got into everything and the storms actually caused some damage to engines, and that grounded some of the aircraft," Neal said. "It was also more than 100 degrees outside."

Upon being re-assigned back to the states in 2007, Neal, who by then had been promoted to lieutenant colonel, received deployment to the 189th Airlift Wing, a military air cargo and troop transport aircraft unit stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Ark. There he stayed until 2010.

Neal eventually retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2016, after spending at least five more years of commanding the maintenance unit which he initially joined as a crew chief back in 1986 - the 188th Fighter Wing, back at Fort Smith. During these later years in the Arkansas Air National Guard, Neal would also see at least three more overseas deployments.

"I was in Iraq in 2010 and again in 2014," he said. "It was even hotter there than it was in Saudi Arabia. It was about 130 degrees and we were confined to our base. It was also arid and dusty and the sand got in everything. We were there to help with NATO force training. When we started the draw-down of the regular U.S. military forces there, it was the National Guard that took over securing places in Iraq. We were also deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 to have our jets fly close air support for our ground forces against the Taliban and ISIS."

Apart from both his military and civil service occupations, Neal also participated in community involvement activities by serving as past president of the Clarksville, Ark, Lions Club. He's also served as a board member and past president of the Arkansas National Guard Association and currently serves on the Arkansas National Youth Challenge Board as well as on the Arkansas-side's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Back in 2016, Neal received the National Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama for his lifelong volunteer and community service efforts.

However, looking back on his military service, Neal said it certainly added great value to his life.

"I appreciated first being an enlisted man and later being an officer." he said. "Overall, it was great to be part of an organization that serves the country - as well as being part of something that's larger than yourself."

Upcoming Events