CAMP SHELBY, Mississippi– For at least two weeks every year, Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) Soldiers say goodbye to their family members when they report for their annual training – except when that annual training is actually a family affair.
Close to 5,000 FLARNG Soldiers converged on Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in July 2024 to participate in the Exportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) exercise. XCTC is a major training event that occurs every five years, and it ensures the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s (IBCT) readiness and proficiency to deploy. Within the 53rd IBCT’s 116th Field Artillery Regiment, two Soldiers had a relationship that is rare to find in military units.
Army 1st Sgt. Dale Fulzenloger is the first sergeant for Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment. When he arrived at Camp Shelby for his unit’s XCTC-focused annual training (AT), he did so with his son, Spc. Tristan Fulzenloger, a forward observer assigned to the Fire Support (FiST) Detachment of 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment.
This year’s AT represents a continuing Fulzenloger family tradition of military service that has lasted four generations on both sides of the family. The senior Fulzenloger’s grandfather was an Air Force MP for 33 years who retired as a chief master sergeant, and his father was a sergeant in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The junior Fulzenloger’s maternal great grandfather served in the Army during World War II, and his maternal grandfather was in the Navy.
First Sergeant Fulzenloger enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard in 2011, attended basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and did an interstate transfer to Florida in 2019.
Spc. Fulzenloger first enlisted in the Kansas Air National Guard. At his Air Force boot camp graduation, his father surprised him by “tapping him out” of formation. Usually done by a family member, getting “tapped out” describes an Air Force tradition that allows a new Airman to break the position of attention after the ceremony. To the junior Fulzenloger’s knowledge, his father was still deployed to Kuwait at the time, and the specialist had not expected to see him for at least another month.
“I saw him, and it didn’t register at first,” Spc. Fulzenloger said. “I saw a dude in uniform, and I thought, ‘Wait a sec, you’re not supposed to be here right now.’ That graduation was memorable because he got back early from deployment, but I also got to meet my new baby sister for the first time, as well as an uncle [who the family had recently reconnected with].”
After graduation, Airman Fulzenloger became a crew chief on a KC-135 refueling jet. He said he enjoyed the work, but he entered a phase in life where he began “feeling stuck,” and the future Soldier realized that the field artillery work his father did appealed to him more.
“I liked the mechanic side of things, but I also like the grunt work, being out in the field, and doing cool stuff,” Spc. Fulzenloger said. “After everything [my father] told me about being a forward observer, I said, ‘that’s the job I want.’ Initially, the Air Force seemed like the best choice, but I didn’t see myself long-term in the Air Guard, so I got out and joined the Army Guard.”
The specialist actively made the rounds to personally obtain the various signatures required to execute his conditional release, all the way up to the base commander. This change of service component also required him to go through boot camp again, this time in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Afterwards, he stayed in Fort Sill to attend his advanced individual training (AIT) to become a field artillery forward observer at the same place his father attended AIT.
“He likes to punish himself,” 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said.
Spc. Fulzenloger said his AIT was a relatively low-stress environment because of previous conversations he’d already had with his father about being a forward observer, which helped him process his training and “the overall big picture” for quicker understanding. First Sergeant Fulzenloger’s training advice has continued to help the specialist’s technical proficiency and professional development beyond AIT.
“Some advice he gave me is to take every opportunity for in-person training,” Spc. Fulzenloger said. “Forward observers can do a lot of simulation work in a call-for-fire trainer, but if you have a chance to do a live fire, whether it’s mortars, artillery or close air support, take it whenever you can. Oh, and don’t ever say ‘no’ to a school.”
Spc. Fulzenloger managed to execute his interstate transfer to Pinellas Park so soon after switching components that he never attended drill with a Kansas Army Guard unit.
“I talked to some people in [my current unit] before I moved,” the specialist said. “I got to see the field, and it was kind of like a family where everyone is tightly knit, they get along, and everyone is good at their jobs. If you’re in a good group of people, you’re going to make sure everyone is on their A-game.”
Both Fulzenlogers drilled as fire support team members, also known as “fisters,” in Pinellas Park, Florida, but when the senior Fulzenloger became a first sergeant, he soon transferred to a different unit. The two Soldiers now report for monthly drills in different cities, but they both continue to serve within the same battalion.
“You can’t have a family member under your rank in the Army,” 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said. “One of us had to transfer, and when a first sergeant position became open, they sent me to the Alpha Battery [in Dade City].”
First Sergeant Fulzenloger said that he and his son also share a mutual, long-time interest in firearms, which, in addition to their shared military service, has brought them closer together.
“It’s different when you see a Soldier doing really well, and he’s also your son,” the first sergeant said. “We go out shooting together and we’re getting into competitions with handguns and shotguns.’”
Spc. Fulzenloger said that as a “fister,” he’s getting first-hand experience in things he heard stories about growing up.
“It’s funny, with him usually at the battery and me on the hill or with the infantry guys, when I’m calling for fire, I might hear which battery is firing and I’ll think, ‘Oh, my dad’s over there,’” Spc. Fulzenloger said. “[After training], he’ll tell me about his side, I’ll tell him about my side, and we’ll see how they match up. It’s really cool to have that bond outside of the immediate family by blood where we’ve also got the military side, and we know we’ve always got each other’s backs.”
Since his son joined the Army, 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said his leadership style has evolved.
“You view things differently,” he said. “If I see behavior that needs correcting as a first sergeant now, I think, ‘What if my son did something like that? What would I do or say to him as a corrective action?’ Half the guys out here are my son’s age, and I look at them like my sons.”
Going forward, neither Soldier intends to end their careers soon. The first sergeant has over 13 years of service and aims to become a sergeant major.
“My grandfather made E-9 and the goal is to hit the same level as him and make my own parents proud,” 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said.
Spc. Fulzenloger said he plans on doing 25 to 30 years in the Guard, and he is interested in exploring options in the Security Forces Assistance Brigade or the warrant officer program.
“If anyone is looking to join the military after a parent, talk to both parents to find out how the military has helped their family – it’s helped my family drastically,” 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said. “You also become brothers and sisters with a lot of people in the field.”
The majority of parents tend to be proud of their children, and not surprisingly, 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger is no exception. He said his son took second place in a FiST competition last year, placing below a sergeant who went on to win a Best Warrior Competition at the battalion level. The competitors placing below Spc. Fulzenloger were also sergeants.
“Once in a while, I hear from one of my son’s supervisors about how autonomous he is in getting things done, which is something I’m especially proud of,” 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said. “As a first sergeant, you couldn’t ask any more of a Soldier. As a father, you couldn’t ask any more of a son.”
