Southfield Native awarded Army Leadership Award

SOUTHFIELD — Almost a decade ago, Capt. Anna Jones traded her blazers and button-ups for camouflage and combat boots when she left her corporate marketing job to join the army.

Jones is a Southfield native currently based in Fort Knox, Kentucky, where she works as a career manager at the Army Human Resources Command.

“I am a proud native of Southfield, Michigan. So, I grew up in Southfield my whole life. Started at Southfield Christian School and then graduated from Southfield High School. It’s not called that anymore,” she joked. “But we still are celebrating our 20th high school reunion next summer, so I will be back in town for that. But I’ve always been called and drawn to service. My father was a veteran, and it’s always been a part of my life, so to speak.”

Earlier this month, Jones was one of the 28 company-grade and junior warrant officers who received the General Douglas MacArthur Award for Exceptional Leadership. This award was established in 1987 to acknowledge 28 individuals annually who display values of duty, honor and country and have shown exceptional performance, leadership and accomplishments.

Jim Heffelfinger, the executive officer of the armor branch in the Talent Alignment Development Directorate at the U.S. Human Resources Command, nominated Jones. Heffelfinger described Jones as a “rockstar” and explained that Jones was the first female career manager for the armor branch. “She’s breaking glass ceilings, and she’s the one we have really been fighting at our level to get someone of her caliber up here. And when we got her, it was an absolute win.”

Jones added, “I was very honored, very surprised, but very honored and blessed that the army said, ‘Hey, you know what? We recognize that time that you spent in your company grade years and we think that you should continue with that leadership approach.’”

Jones attended college at the University of Notre Dame, where she double majored in political science and Arabic. She added that service is a pillar of Notre Dame’s values. After years of working in marketing,  Jones felt that she was being called to serve the country.

“After graduating, I did start in corporate America, where I worked for, like, a Fortune 50 company for the first seven years of my professional career, but that itch, that call to serve, was still there, and I just didn’t feel like I was a part of something bigger than myself. So I made that decision; even though I really loved my job, I had to go and take the leap to join the army, and I am so glad I did. It’s so easy to just get up and go to work every day, when you’re just a part of something that’s a little bit bigger than yourself and you’re surrounded by so many great people.”

On Jan. 6, 2025, it’ll be 10 years since Jones made the life-changing decision to change career paths and join the army.

During her time serving, she has been stationed in Fort Cavazos in Texas, Fort Moore in Georgia and is currently at Fort Knox in Kentucky. “I miss my seasons. I miss my Michigan seasons, and we’re planning a trip trying to get up there to go apple-picking, because they just don’t do that in Texas. God bless them, but they don’t have apple orchards.”

Jones said that the best part of being stationed Down South is the warm weather, but she misses the fall up north. “Every Sunday, my texts are flooded with info on the Lions games, which is great, and being a Lions fan is better than being a Cowboys fan.”

In her current position at the Army Human Resources Command, she helps manage the assignments, promotions and careers of soldiers.

“It’s very different than my last job, where we were training. I was on Bradley Fighting Vehicles, where we would train, we would operate those vehicles, and it was a very tactical environment. I was on tanks in another unit. That’s what I love about the army. And when I tell you, these 10 years have flown by, because one of the goals is that they want us all to be well-rounded. So they try and give you different experiences to learn something different. So that’s the most fun.”

Jones shared that she has been able to travel, continue to train and challenge herself physically and mentally.

“The army will challenge you, and it’ll push you to continue to get better. You cannot be stagnant. You have to continue to improve your organization and improve yourself physically with your own leadership skills. There’s always something new to learn. And I think that’s my favorite part of the job.”