LTC Melissa L. Hoaglin
DSTB Commander
CSM Malachi L. Thornton
DSTB Command Sergeant Major
Command Sgt. Maj. Malachi L. Thornton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He entered the U.S. Army in August 1998 after earning his high school diploma from Arsenal Technical High School. Thornton attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lee, Virginia, earning the Military Occupational Specialty Unit Supply Specialist.
Thornton’s assignments include: battalion supply clerk, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 82nd Aviation (Attack), Fort Bragg, North Carolina; supply sergeant for B. and E, Company, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment, Fort Knox, Kentucky; property book office Noncommissioned Officer, Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), Camp Humphreys, Korea; supply sergeant, 59th Mobility Augmentation Company Route Clearance, battalion S4 Noncommissioned Officer-in-charge, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas; battalion S4 NCOIC, 787th Military Police Battalion, brigade S4 NCOIC, 14th Military Police Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, brigade S4 NCOIC, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, battalion S4 NCOIC, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, first sergeant, F. Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Bragg; operations sergeant, 1st Group Support Battalion, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Thornton’s served most recently as the G4 sergeant major of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.
Thornton’s military and civilian education include the combat lifesaver course, field sanitation course, contracting officer representative course, property book unit supply enhanced course, combatives level one, airborne school, primary leadership development course (Commandant’s List & Leadership Award winner), basic noncommissioned officer course (Commandant’s List & Lead Motivator), advanced noncommissioned officer course (Distinguished Honor Graduate), commander’s and first sergeant’s course, jumpmaster course, master resiliency course and the U.S. Army sergeant’s major academy. He has also earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College.
Thornton’s awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with “C” Device, the Army Commendation Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal with three Silver Loops, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Development Ribbon with numeral 5 device, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Master Parachutist Badge, and the Combat Action Badge. He is also a member of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, a distinguished member of the Order of Saint Martin, and an honorable member of the Order of Saint Barbra.