Guarding the state
Buchanan recognized for serving as Pennsylvania’s Senior Enlisted Leader
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The Pennsylvania National Guard's Senior Enlisted Leader, an Altoona native, is retiring, leaving a legacy of putting troops and their families first, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania said.
"Pennsylvania is big -- we're the third largest national guard in the nation," said Maj. Gen. Anthony Carrelli, Pennsylvania's adjutant general. "But even at this level, overseeing thousands of soldiers and airmen, Command Sgt. Major Harry "Jim" Buchanan would remind us it all really comes down to the faces of our troops and their families."
After 41 years in the Pennsylvania National Guard, Buchanan is hanging up his beret and looking to a future out of uniform -- although, reluctantly.
"If the military didn't throw you out at 60 years old," Buchanan's wife, Tami, said, chuckling, "he'd still be there."
Buchanan retired during a ceremony Nov. 13 at Fort Indiantown Gap.
Serving in the military was one of his proudest achievements, Buchanan said. But now, he plans to focus on family.
"My family, my wife -- they've been so supportive over the years," he said. "I've missed some key events with my kids and grandkids, and I don't plan to miss any more."
Digging holes
Born in Altoona, Buchanan grew up in a family with a long history of military service.
His father, uncle, brother and several cousins all served, so it was no surprise when Buchanan joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1979, shortly after graduating from Altoona Area High School.
Becoming a soldier was a high priority, but Buchanan said he joined the National Guard, rather than go active Army, because he had no intention of leaving Altoona.
"I love Altoona, and I always have," Buchanan said. "My family, friends, everything I hold dear is here, and I wanted to stay."
Two years after enlisting, Buchanan married his wife, and the couple now has two children and several grandchildren.
Without the full-time income from active service, Buchanan needed a way to provide for his growing family. While he tried his hand at a few jobs, it wasn't until he met Larry McAleer, owner of McAleer's Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, that Buchanan found a career.
"When I started with Larry, I was taking care of water softeners," Buchanan said. "Then, I became a plumbers' helper as I attended (vocational-technical school) in the evenings to become a licensed plumber."
Plumbing and the infantry had a lot in common. There was always a hole to dig, and the work was hard but rewarding, Buchanan said.
A family business with roots stretching all the way back to the end of the 19th century, McAleer's has seen a good many workers come and go, but McAleer said Buchanan was a solid hire from the beginning.
"I knew Jim from where we lived, and I knew what type of a person Jim was," McAleer said. "He's honest, loyal and personable. He's just a great person."
Balancing civilian work schedules with military service -- especially wartime deployments -- has cost many veterans their livelihoods, but Buchanan said he never had to worry about that with McAleer.
"Larry was always so supportive and proud of my service," he said. "All the way up to when I was selected for senior enlisted leader and had to report for duty in three days, he understood, and I couldn't have asked for more."
Sacrifice
For most, a career in the military is no more than 20 years.
A few serve 30 years, but 41 years of service is rare, Carrelli said.
"That experience is tremendous," he said. "No one goes through a 40-year career without problems, and (Buchanan was) able to relay that to the (service members) around him, and tell them what helped him through the hard times."
An infantryman from start to finish, Buchanan served as a traditional guardsmen, working one weekend a month and two weeks a year -- excluding deployments -- for most of his career.
The last four years, however, Buchanan was an active guardsman, working full-time for Pennsylvania National Guard as the senior enlisted leader -- an advisory position to the Adjutant General in which Buchanan represented the enlisted members of the Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guards.
"I remember he was so excited to hear he got the job," Carrelli said. "But I should've been the one who was that excited. His impact will continue for decades with the National Guard."
Taking the job was an extreme honor for Buchanan, but it also required a big sacrifice from his family.
During the first three of his four years in the position, Buchanan was only able to be around his family an average of 100 days a year.
"It was a big change," Buchanan said. "I lived and worked in Fort Indiantown Gap, and I wasn't able to get back home to Altoona very often."
By the fourth year, 2020, his family time was reduced to about 30 days as the national guard juggled both a global pandemic and civil unrest.
On the other hand,
Buchanan's position granted him the opportunity to rub shoulders with Pennsylvania's elite, such as state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair.
"He's a little daunting at first, because he's a big guy," Ward said.
At 6-foot-2 with broad shoulders and a barrel chest, Buchanan cuts an impressive figure in uniform.
"But he is such a kind individual," Ward said. "He loves his God. He loves his family, and he loves his service to the country."
'Jim in a nutshell'
Being the senior enlisted leader comes with a few perks, and for Buchanan, one of the biggest was traveling.
"Our state partner is Lithuania, so we traveled over there to train with them several times," Buchanan said. "I love the food and the culture there. The people were just so amazing."
During a trip in 2019 with Gov. Tom Wolf and his retinue, Buchanan made an impression on Wolf's team.
"This was more of a political trip -- it was the first time a Pennsylvanian governor visited Lithuania," Carrelli said. "Jim had never really met the governor before, and yet, by the end of that week, everyone was so comfortable with Jim."
Whether members of his own team or the governor's, Buchanan took care of everyone -- drivers and photographers included -- ensuring they were fed, hydrated and had support when they needed it.
"That's Jim in a nutshell," Carrelli said. "These were people he didn't really know before this trip, but they were best friends by the end of it. He's a guy you're going to be friends with for the rest of your life."
Above all, Buchanan said his greatest achievement during his service was ensuring his troops were considered in all levels of decision making.
"My whole mission as Command Sergeant Major was, 'What can I do for my soldiers and airmen,'" he said. "My efforts were never for me, it was to make a better force under me."
Successful leaders rely on the support of others to help them achieve their goals, Buchanan said. For him, that support came from his wife, his family, McAleer and his friends.
"I couldn't have done any of this without the sacrifices of my wife and family, and their willingness to stand behind me," Buchanan said, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm so thankful for them."
Although his enlistment is complete, Buchanan said he wasn't through with civil service.
"I'm not done working," he said. "I'd like to find a way to serve in some capacity."
Mirror Staff Writer Ike Fredregill is at 946-7458.
A meritorious career
During Ret. Command Sgt. Maj. Harry "Jim" Buchanan's more than 40 years of service in Pennsylvania National Guard, he was honored with the many medals and awards listed below:
* Bronze Service Medal
* Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
* Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with one silver and three bronzer oak leaf clusters
* National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
* Kosovo Campaign Medal
* Iraq Campaign Medal with on one bronze service star
* Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
* Humanitarian Service Medal
* Armed Forced Reserve Medal with numeral 2, gold hourglass and mobilization device
* Army Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 5
* Army Service Ribbon
* Army Overseas Service Ribbon
* Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon with numeral 2
* NATO Medal, Pennsylvania National Guard Keystone Freedom Ribbon, Pennsylvania Service Ribbon
* Pennsylvania National Guard 20-Year-Service Medal with three silver service stars
* Pennsylvania Maj. Gen. Thomas R. White Medal
* Pennsylvania Gen. Thomas J. Stewart Medal with one oak leaf cluster
* Louisiana Emergency Service Ribbon
* Meritorious Unit Commendation
* Combat Action Badge and the Order of Saint Maurice