Command Sergeant Major Joseph Legra entered the U.S. Army in July 1984. He attended Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Jackson, SC. His first assignment was with the 7th Combat Engineer Brigade, Stuttgart, Germany in 1985. From 1986 to 1988, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division at Fort Campbell, KY. Including Germany, CSM Legra has served on overseas tours of duty in Honduras, Panama, Korea, Operation Iraqi Freedom (2005) and Operation New Dawn (2011).
CSM Legra enlisted into the Army Reserves in October 1988 in
Los Angeles, CA. Some key Noncommissioned Officer positions he held over
the past 30 years include Platoon Sergeant, 176th Medical Brigade, Cypress, CA;
Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer (EPLO), Fifth U.S. Army, 63rd Regional
Support Command, Los Alamitos, CA; First Sergeant, 394th Adjutant General
Company, Long Beach, CA; Chief Instructor (ROTC), 2/319th Infantry Regiment, 7th
Brigade, 80th Division, Salem, VA; Base Operations Sergeant Major and Senior
Enlisted Advisor, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I), An
Numaniyah Military Training Base, Iraq; Operations Sergeant Major, 6th Brigade,
80th Division (IT), Fort Belvoir, VA;
S-3 Operations SGM, 3rd Brigade, 104th Division, Ft. Belvoir, VA;
Command Sergeant Major, 1104th Mobilization Support Battalion, Ft. Dix, NJ;
Command Sergeant Major, 275th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Ft. Lee,
VA. CSM Legra’s current assignment is the Command Sergeant Major, 3rd
Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), Ft. Belvoir, VA.
CSM Legra’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star
Medal (2nd Award), Meritorious Service Medal (3rd Award), Army Commendation
Medal (8th Award), Army Achievement Medal (3rd Award), Good Conduct Medal (2nd
Award), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (7th Award), National Defense
Service Medal (2nd Award), Iraqi Campaign Service Medal (w/3 bronze campaign
stars), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, Global War on
Terrorism Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal (w/silver hourglass, “M” and
numeral 2 device), NCO Professional Development Ribbon (w/numeral 4 device),
Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (3rd Award), Army Reserve
Components Overseas Training Ribbon (with numeral 3), Sharpshooter Marksmanship
Badge, Air Assault Badge, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Joint Meritorious
Unit Award and the Distinguished Order of St. Martin Medal.
CSM Legra’s military education includes the Primary
Leadership Course, Basic NCO Course, Advanced NCO Course, First Sergeants
Course, U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (Class 33), Logistics NCO Course, Air
Assault Course, Northern Warfare Arctic Training Course (Alaska), Total Army
Instructor Trainers Course, Civil-Military Counterdrug Institute, Reserve
Components National Security Course, Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers
Course, and the Battalion / Brigade Pre-Command Course.
CSM Legra’s civilian education consists of Bachelor of
Science degree (1996) from the University of Redlands, Redlands, CA., and
Master of Science (Candidate), Virginia Polytechnic University, Blacksburg, VA.
CSM Legra is currently employed as a Sr. Systems Engineer at Parsons
Corporation, supporting the Missile Defense Agency, Ft. Belvoir, VA.