Pa. Army Guard CSM retires after 39 years of military service

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – When Command Sgt. Maj. Oscar M. Laughman III enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, he expected his military career to last four years.
Thirty-nine years later, Laughman is preparing to retire.
“My plan was to do my four years in the Marines and get out,” Laughman said. “I really didn’t want to enlist in the Guard, but my father, who was in the PAARNG, convinced me to give it a try.”
Laughman, who currently serves as the Pennsylvania Army National Guard command sergeant major and commandant of the Noncommissioned Officer Academy at the 166th Regiment-Regional Training Institute at Fort Indiantown Gap, retires Oct. 30 after nearly four decades of service in the Marine Corps and Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
A York, Pennsylvania, native and 1988 graduate of Hanover Senior High School, Laughman entered the Marine Corps after high school and completed basic and military occupational specialty training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina.
In October 1990, he deployed to Saudi Arabia with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
After completing four years in the Marine Corps, Laughman joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and was assigned to Battery A, 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery Regiment.
Laughman began his Active Guard Reserve career in 2004 as a unit training NCO. He later deployed with 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery Regiment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2008 to 2009.
Laughman said his time as a first sergeant and readiness NCO with Battery A was one of the experiences that had the greatest impact on him as a leader.
“That position allowed me to take care of Soldiers and mentor them,” Laughman said. “The first sergeant at the company level gets to know each Soldier personally, which allows us to fix issues both within the military and personal life.”
His career continued through a series of increasingly senior enlisted leadership positions. In 2012, he was selected and promoted to master sergeant while serving as the Pennsylvania Army National Guard G-3 NCOIC. He was promoted to sergeant major in 2016 and served as the operations sergeant major for 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment before later serving as the battalion’s command sergeant major.
In 2019, Laughman was selected to serve as the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team operations sergeant major. In March 2021, he was selected as the Pennsylvania Army National Guard G-3 sergeant major, and in June 2022, he was selected to serve as command sergeant major of the 166th Regiment Regional Training Institute.
Laughman’s military education includes Battle Staff, the Joint Fires and Effects Course, the Brigade Pre-Command Course and all required levels of professional military education, culminating with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, the Army Commendation Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters, Army and Navy Achievement Medals, the Combat Action Ribbon, Combat Action Badge and numerous other federal and state awards.
Throughout those assignments, Laughman said mentoring Soldiers remained one of the most rewarding parts of his career.
“I have had the privilege of mentoring numerous Soldiers who have gone on to become command sergeants major, majors and lieutenant colonels within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard,” Laughman said.
For Laughman, serving as commandant of the NCO Academy provided another opportunity to continue that mentorship, this time reaching Soldiers from across all Army components.
“Being the commandant enabled me to continue mentoring Soldiers throughout the Army since we instructed Soldiers from the Active Army, Army Reserve and National Guard,” Laughman said. “This position allows you to be a leader of leaders, and watching Soldiers succeed while at the NCO Academy is rewarding.”
During nearly four decades of service, Laughman has also witnessed significant changes in the role of the Army noncommissioned officer.
“The NCO Corps is truly the backbone of the Army,” Laughman said.
He said that early in his career, officers generally took a more prominent role in leading and conducting training. Today, he said, NCOs are expected to take the lead in executing training based on the commander’s guidance and are increasingly pursuing higher levels of civilian and military education.
That evolution in the NCO Corps has also shaped the advice Laughman gives to Soldiers and NCOs beginning their own careers.
“Every day is an audition and physical fitness is free,” he said.
As his retirement approaches, Laughman said leaving the organization and people who have been part of his life for nearly four decades will not be easy.
“I will miss the people who I have had the privilege of serving with throughout my career,” Laughman said. “The PAARNG has been great to me and my family.”
But after 39 years of drills, deployments, training and leadership responsibilities, Laughman said he is also looking forward to some of the simpler benefits of retirement.
“I look forward to getting my weekends back and no requirement to shave,” he said.

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