Command Sergeant Major Bobby McLaughlin began his Army career on 12 November, 1976 when he enlisted into the Delayed Entry program. He completed Basic Combat Training and Engineer Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO in 1977. He worked on numerous Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) ranges as a tower operator, instructor, and NCOIC. In 1996 he was selected to help form a unit of evaluators to administer the EOCT (End of Cycle Test) to all 95th DIV drill sergeants performing duty at Fort Sill, OK. In 1998 he was selected as the Senior Intelligence Sergeant for the 7th Brigade, 95th DIV (IT) and remained in that role until selected for Command Sergeant Major in 2006. His first CSM assignment was with the 431st Civil Affairs BN located in North Little Rock, AR. He then served as the CSM for the 4/95th BN (CM) in North Little Rock, AR until selected as the CSM for the 3rd BDE (CM) at West Hartford, CT. His final CSM assignment is with the 97th Training Brigade, 100th DIV (LD) located at Fort Sheridan, IL. CSM McLaughlin was mobilized in support of Operation Noble Eagle in October 2001.
CSM McLaughlin’s military education includes the 51R Electrician course, Methods of Learning Course, multiple Battalion Training Management System (BTMS) Courses (certified to be a trainer), 11B Advanced Non-Commissioned Officers Course, 1st Sergeants Course, Battle-Focused Instructor Training Refresher Course (BFITC), Unit Level NBC Defense Course, Combat Life Saver course (certified to be a trainer), Occupational Hearing Conservation Course, Information Assurance Security Course, the Security Manager’s Course, the Collateral Duty Safety Officer/NCO and Risk Management Course, Radiation Safety Course, the Intelligence Analyst Course (96B) Phase I and the BN/BDE Commander and Safety Course. He graduated from the Sergeants Major Academy as a member of Class 32 in 2007.
Significant awards and accomplishments include: Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with 1 Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device and Silver Hourglass, Non-Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, with numeral 5 affixed, and the Army Service Ribbon. In 2010, CSM McLaughlin was selected to receive the 80th Training Command’s CSM Morris Salley Jr. Award of Excellence, presented annually to the “best CSM in the Training Command!”
CSM McLaughlin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas and a Master of Education in Administration from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. He is married to Rosemary and together they have three daughters, Lauren, Haley, and McKenna.