Curtis Adams enlisted in the United States Army in June of 1993 after graduating from Temple Christian Academy in Somerset. Before enlisting, he had lived in Casey County since 1987.
He attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Advanced Individual Training, or AIT, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he trained to become an artilleryman. He was a fire direction controller for multiple launch rocket systems.
He remained on active duty with the Army until 1997 when he returned to Kentucky and joined the National Guard in 1998. He said he initially chose the Army because he was young and needed some direction in life.
“I wasn’t ready for college at the time,” Adams said. “When I came back home after serving on active duty, I realized the Guard was kind of the Army’s hometown team. So, I could serve part time and go to school.”
Adams served with the National Guard until 2005 when he decided to go back to school. He attended Western Kentucky University to get his bachelor’s degree in 2006 and a master’s degree in 2008. After graduating, he had a 10-year break in service and taught special education for those 10 years at Bowling Green Independent Schools.
Eventually, he left teaching and returned to the Guard in 2015 in order to become a chaplain. He has a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Liberty, which allowed him to become commissioned into the Chaplain Corps on Sept. 29, 2017.
“I am responsible for the commander’s religious program for all soldiers of all faiths and all walks of life,” Adams said.
Adams said his primary roles are to provide religious support and religious services. He also advises the command teams on issues related to the morale of the unit as well as ethical decisions that must be made when carrying out the operations of the military.
“The Guard, in my opinion, represents the best of our citizens,” he said. “It’s individuals who have made a commitment to serve but they maintain a regular job somewhere else, and they are ready when called upon.”
Over the last two decades, Adams believes the Guard has played a major role in certain events that are happening all over the world. He has been mobilized for different things and recently returned from an 11-month tour in eastern Europe. He served with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s, NATO’s, Peacekeeping Operations in Kosovo.
Since enlisting in 1993, Adams said his favorite part about the military has been making connections with others.
“With modern technology, I can stay connected to folks that I served with 30 years ago,” he said. “And I do. Just being connected with people, being part of something bigger than yourself, and having some small part in major historical events.”
He recalled a time in 1994 when he was serving in Europe and they were commemorating the 50-year anniversary of the D-Day invasion. He credits the experience in helping him understand what truly matters in life.
“I’ll never forget being 20-years-old and taking part in the 50th anniversary commemorating the D-Day invasion and the liberation of cities and towns across western Europe, specifically marching in Belgium, and seeing the appreciation those folks still had 50 years after the fact for what our service men and women did to liberate their towns,” he said. “I realized, at that point, that being a member of the military meant that I was a part of something that was historic.”
When Adams first enlisted in the Army, his twin brother joined him. They went through basic training and AIT together. Once they were given their first assignments, they were separated. Adams went overseas to Germany and his brother went to Fort Hood, Texas.
“Probably for the first time in my life we were separated,” Adams said. “So it forced me to develop an identity that was independent of anybody else. That was good and bad when you’re a young person, but ultimately, I can look back on that and I can see that had I not been in the military, I wouldn’t have been in that situation and I wouldn’t have become the person I later became.”
Now, Adams serves as the Associate Minister at Greenwood Baptist Church in Bowling Green. He has been there since 2018 when he left teaching. He hopes to continue to serve as a chaplain in the National Guard until he reaches retirement age. He said he and his wife, a native of Casey County, love to travel, and in retirement, would go on more mission trips.
“Even in retirement, we want to remain active,” Adams said.