Following in father's footsteps, Jacksonville Soldier retires as sergeant major

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Sgt. Maj. Eric L. Walls, a native of Jacksonville, Illinois and resident of Springfield, Illinois, retires in June after 32 years in the Illinois National Guard.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (06/11/2014)(readMedia)-- "Who I am and what I've become is due to the military," said Sgt. Maj. Eric L. Walls, a native of Jacksonville, Illinois, with Joint Force Headquarters in Springfield, Illinois, who will retire in June after 32 years of military service. "This has been my whole life. This is all I've ever done since I was 17 years old."

After heavy encouragement from his father, a retired sergeant major from the Illinois Army National Guard, Walls enlisted in June 1982 as a fire control computer specialist and a small wheel vehicle mechanic with the 3637th Maintenance Company in Springfield, Illinois.

In 1984, Walls became a temporary full-time technician that resulted in a permanent full-time position as a supply specialist at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.

"He has always been very focused and driven," said Master Sgt. David E. Purdy of Rochester, Illinois, with Joint Force Headquarters, who has worked at Camp Lincoln with Walls since 1988. "He wanted to learn everything we could teach him."

Walls held many positions during his military career, with his last position as the support services branch supervisor for the director of information management at Camp Lincoln.

The most rewarding position was his last, he said.

"I have a great team that knows what they have to do every day and they do a great job at it," said Walls. "They make my life easy."

Walls made his way up the ranks, serving as squad leader, platoon sergeant, and first sergeant of Joint Force Headquarters and as the task force sergeant major during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2010.

He and his team co-deployed with its Polish counterparts and worked together cohesively in Afghanistan, he said. Walls considered Poland one of the best countries visited during his military service.

"Poland stands out the most," said Walls. "We had a good mission, training with the Polish Army Brigade to go to Afghanistan and got to see a lot of the country."

Looking back, Walls said he was very grateful for his father setting him in this direction.

"I got three degrees, a lot of experience, great friends, and opportunities to do many things and learn a lot," said Walls. "It has been great."

He spent a lot of time educating himself and ended up following in his father's footsteps retiring as a sergeant major, said Purdy

After his military retirement, Walls intends to pursue other career options and see where the road leads. For future Soldiers he leaves advice to be as diverse as possible and get as much experience in different positions.