Retired Sergeant Major Eugene Folks Jr.

MADISON – A Montgomery native, retired Sergeant Major (SGM) Eugene Folks Jr. entered the U.S. Army in 1979. He attended Basic Combat and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson, S.C.

He started as a Wheel Vehicle and Power Generation Mechanic and reclassified in 1983 to Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Specialist. He engaged in Reforger Exercises; Southeast Asia Team Spirit Exercises; Cold Weather Exercises, Alaska and Massachusetts; and Combat Maneuver and National Training Center Rotations.

His 16-plus military assignments include Battalion NBC NCO, HHC, 197th Support Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.; Decontamination Platoon and Operations Sergeant, 68th Chemical Company, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; and Chief of Training SGM, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. and Fort Bliss, Texas.

At Fort Knox, Ky., Folks was Installation NBC Committee Chief, Alpha Company, 3d Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment and First Sergeant, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry.

At Camp Carroll, Korea, he was Operations Sergeant, 23rd Chemical Battalion.

In Germany, he was Reconnaissance Platoon Sergeant, 69th Chemical Company, 1st Armor Division, Nurnberg; Battalion NBC NCO, HHC, 1st Battalion 4th Infantry, Hohenfels; Battalion NBC NCO, 10th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, 9th Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt; and First Sergeant, HHC, 9th Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt.

Before retiring in 2009, Folks was SGM for Division Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, along with Rear Detachment, 1st Armored Division, Wiesbaden Army Airfield.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Sullivan University, master’s degree in human resource development from Webster University and is pursuing a master’s degree in religious education from Liberty University Seminary.

He and the former Sylvia D. Brown of Montgomery have been married 27-plus years. Their son Jamaal Demond and wife La Shaun of San Antonio have two children, Noah Malachi, 7, and Nyla La Shaun, 6. Son Xavier Darnell lives in Madison.

Folks works as Army Civilian Human Resources Specialist at Redstone Arsenal. He is a judicial volunteer, serving as a mentor for Madison County Veterans Court. He’s a member of Madison County Alabama Veterans Court, Redstone Arsenal Sergeants Major Association and American Legion Post 229 in Madison.

He enjoys ‘hanging out’ with family, watching movies and serving in gospel ministry. His favorite scripture is Psalm 37:23: “Steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”