By Kathleen Leese

For Miami Valley Today

PIQUA — Brig. Gen. Paul Craft, a Piqua native, spent some time sharing his story with students at Piqua High School on Thursday, May 2, telling them that he was an “unlikely success story” and encouraged them to pursue their dreams and consider what the military has to offer.

Craft told students his success was unlikely as “a kid who grew up on a farm five miles from (Piqua) and became an Army general.” He planned to attend Ohio Northern University and said he “didn’t have the best grades, but above average grades,” he got a call one day about West Point. Craft decided to make the Army his career after that. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1993, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps.

While at West Point, Craft played football for a year and said he “blew out his knee,” making his dream of serving in the infantry a thing of the past. Instead, he went into the Signal Corp.

“The Army’s been great. Better than I ever thought,” Craft said. “I’ve had the opportunity to live in different places around the world.”

With the injury to his knee, he said the great thing is that “the Army gives you all the training you need,” making it possible to pursue lots of other options.

Currently located in Augusta, Georgia, Craft has served in a number of capacities during his long career in the U.S. Army. Currently, he serves as deputy commanding general of Joint Force Headquarters – Cyber (Army), U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) since May 2022. In that role, he leads a team of more than 150 soldiers, civilians and contractors that provide cyberspace support to the U.S. Central Command, U.S. African Command and U.S. Northern Command.

Additionally, Craft served on multiple tours of duty in the Republic of Korea and served at the 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command), the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, served at the Pentagon and among many other duties, served as chief of cyber and commandant of the U.S. Army Cyber and Electromagnetic Warfare School at Fort Eisenhower, formerly Fort Gordon, Georgia.

Craft shared about being in combat, having served in multiple combat operations in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. While in Afghanistan, Craft said he was in charge of 500 soldiers and said that was the “toughest time” of his career. During his tour in Afghanistan, their barracks were bombed over 100 times and while they did not lose anyone, he said they had four men and four women who got Purple Hearts for their service.

“It is my absolute charge to keep our unit safe. It was the most challenging thing,” he said.

Craft and his family were fortunate, he said, to spend three years living in Hawaii on another assignment and “we were able to travel throughout the Pacific” including a trip to Australia.

The educational opportunities were important for Craft as well. He earned a bachelor’s degree in American political science and master’s degrees in information management and business administration from Arizona State University as part of the Army’s advanced civil schooling program and in National Security and Resource Strategy with a concentration in cyber from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University.

Craft said that while he was stationed in South Korea for two years, he and his wife, Christina (Francis, a native of Troy), had a daughter.

During a question and answer period, Craft was asked what it was like balancing military life and family. They married two months after he graduated from West Point.

“It wasn’t fun” being separated. He added, “I wouldn’t have made it through without her devotion and her love.”

One student asked about Craft’s favorite memory from his years of service. He became emotional as he responded that it was “coming back from deployment. My daughter (Katelyn) running across the tarmac as I got off the plane.” He was returning from Afghanistan and knew he would not be deployed again for awhile.

If he had not chosen a military career, Craft said he would have been a government teacher like his dad.

“I enjoy teaching. Give me a white board and we’ll have some fun.” But he added, “I chose a lifetime of service.”

Craft told students he learned in his life he “needed to be disciplined. I have to apply discipline to my steps or get pushed around by others.” He added that in spite of self-doubt, he “chose to lead.”

One of the important lessons Craft said he learned from the Army involves the “ambush.” It is an Army term and he said they are taught about the worst kind of ambush called the “L ambush” in which they try to get the enemy cornered. He added that they are trained to “fight through the ambush” and not to give up.

Craft told the students he was approved for retirement last week and will be moving back to Piqua with his family late this summer or in the fall. As he prepares to retire, he hopes the students will “pick up the mantle” and serve their country as well.

“Please take advantage of all that the military offers you,” he said, noting the military offers a steady job, financial security and educational opportunities.

As Craft looks back on his career, he told students, “I jumped in the deep end of the pool (and) took those chances,” ones he encourages those starting out in life to take as well.