Command Sergeant Major Tawanna M. Dawson enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in August 1989. She attended and completed both Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in June 1990 and was awarded the Military Occupation Specialty of Administrative Specialist (71L). In April 1992, Command Sergeant Major Dawson enlisted in the Regular Army and reclassified as a Finance Specialist (73C), Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.
Command Sergeant Major Dawson’s recent assignments include: CSM, 479th Engineer Battalion, Fort Drum, NY, and CSM, 410th Hospital Center, Fort Meade, MD. Her other duty assignments include: the 171st Area Support Group, Garner, NC, Administrative Specialist; 3286th USARF School, Garner, NC, Administrative Specialist; 39th Finance Company (Disbursement), Hanau, GE, Finance Specialist; 755th AG Company (Postal), Longview, TX; 216th Transportation Detachment, Fort Bragg, NC, Traffic Coordinator Specialist; 596th Transportation Detachment, Charleston, SC, Traffic Coordinator Specialist; 205th Public Affairs Detachment, Administrative Specialist; 210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Garner, NC, Administrative Specialist; 171st Area Support Group, Garner, NC, Human Resources NCO; United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), Fort Bragg, NC, Senior Budget Analyst and Senior Human Resources NCO; USARC Augmentation Unit, First Sergeant; 335th Signal Command (Theater), East Point, GA, Budget NCO.
Command Sergeant Major Dawson’s military education includes Transportation Coordinator (88Z), Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC), Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC), Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC), and the United States Sergeant Major Academy. Her other military-related training includes the Sexual Harassment Assault Response Program (SHARP), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), and Master Resiliency Training (MRT); Department of Defense Financial Management Certification (DFMC), Level III. Command Sergeant Major Dawson’s civilian education includes two Associates of Applied Science (AAS) with Honors: Business Administration and Human Resource Management, Fayetteville Technical Community College; Fayetteville, NC; a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration (Honors, Magna Cum Laude), Grantham University, Lenexa, KS; and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development (Honors, Cum Laude), Villanova University, Villanova, PA.
Command Sergeant Major Dawson’s awards and decorations include Meritorious Service Medal (four oak leaf clusters); Army Commendation Medal (bronze oak leaf cluster); Army Achievement Medal (four bronze oak leaf clusters); Army Superior Civilian Service Medal; Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service; Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service; Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (silver oak leaf cluster and a bronze oak leaf cluster); National Defense Service Medal (bronze service star), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Armed Forces Service Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal (“M” device and silver hourglass); Army Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (Numeral 5); Army Service Ribbon; Army Overseas Service Ribbon (Numeral 2); and NATO Medal.
Command Sergeant Major Dawson is a native of and resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with her husband, Walter. They have three adult children: one daughter, Jasmine (29) (spouse, Antwon, and one granddaughter, Ava (6 months)), and two sons: JeDon (21) and Julius (20).