A Vet’s Story – James Follweiler

A SOLDIERS TALE-Working hard to make a difference

The determination to give nothing but one’s best, “Be all you can be,” has been transformed from Army slogan to way of life. In an attempt to produce the ultimate public servant, the Army is known for its commitment to personal excellence. Encouragement and opportunity to capitalize strengths are offered to soldiers who feel adventure, cultural exposure, and discipline, can promote the achievement of personal growth. Eager for challenges and hungry for responsibility, Army veteran James Follweiler has looked to the Army philosophy to better his life and lives of others. Working hard to make a difference and striving to attain personal goals, Follweiler is an example of the perfect Army soldier; motivated to be all he can be.

Reared up in Bethlehem, Pa., Follweiler grew up in a strict middle-class household where obedience was a central focus of family life. A former private in the U.S. Army, Follweiler’s father, demanded respect. The youngest of three sons, Follweiler was shy and well-mannered with regard for authority. His favorite childhood memory was keeping up with the world by watching the news with his father every night and listening to his father’s stories.

Talking about his father cracked Follweiler’s rough exterior. Despite his unblemished uniform, firm voice, and posture near perfection, a smile emerged to soften his presence as he spoke about his childhood role model.

“I admired my father for going through the army and achieving his dream to become his own boss. A self-employed electrician, he worked as hard as he could at his job and this inspired me to always give 100 percent. I wanted to do the same thing. ” said Follweiler.

Wrestling back and forth between college options, Follweiler couldn’t part with his childhood aspirations of joining the Army. Enrolling in the ROTC program at Susequenna University in 1979, Follweiler endured demanding physical and mental training throughout his four years of schooling. “Combining classroom work with practical instruction on how to take charge and to take command, ROTC teaches skills that will help you succeed later on in a civilian career,” explained Follweiler.

Graduating from college in 1984 as a second lieutenant, Follweiler completed his initial training at Fort Knox, Ky., as a member of the armored branch. His specialty was tanks. Upon graduation from that training, his first assignment was in Germany.

Follweiler had mixed feelings about this assignment. He was excited to experience life in a different area of the world, but nervous to leave his sheltered military program and family life. Despite this anxiety, Follweiler accepted this opportunity with an excitement to impose his work ethic on a new environment.

Serving as a platoon leader in Germany from 1984-1987, Follweiler worked in logistics. Living in Germany for three years, he worked up his rank to lieutenant. Rewarded with more free time for his dedication to training soldiers how to operate tanks, Follweiler was intrigued by the differences between German and American culture. He traveled around the country as often as he could; eating assorted food, talking to diverse people, observing traditions and daily elements of German life. He had hope that he could open his eyes to see good in people’s differences.

“Exposure to different cultures helps to round you out as a person. I’ve learned that you can compare your views with opinions of others and find reason for discrepancies,” reflects Follweiler.

Transferred back to Fort Knox, Ky., in 1987, Follweiler was offered another unique opportunity. Based in the training team unit for modern equipment, he was offered a spot on an eight-person training team that teaches new soldiers the latest tank technology.

Holding a valuable authoritative position on the training team, Follweiler felt proud of his work ethic. Pride kept him determined to teach soldiers how to operate modern tank equipment to the best of their ability. He thrived off helping others accomplish goals because it felt good to know his work was not only important to him, but to his students. Making a meaningful impression on his students was also encouraging to Follweiler as he continued to follow in his fathers’ footsteps and create a memorable Army legacy.

Remaining at Fort Knox for a few more years, Follweiler had worked his way up to cavalry troop commander during the time of Desert Storm in 1991. Although he did not travel to combat in the Middle East, Follweiler played an important role during this war from Fort Knox. Because he trained soldiers to use certain combat equipment, their performance on the battlefield reflected Follweiler’s tactics and methods. Again, hard work and determination were the key to achieving victory.

“I am a firm believer that it’s not just physical skill required to successfully deploy massive weapons. It’s the mental determination and effort exerted to applying war tactics that calls for the physical coordination,” preached Follweiler. “This is what I try to convey in my teaching approach,” He added.

With such enthusiasm exerted in his teaching of others, Follweiler was transferred in 1998 to the University of Virginia (UVA) to help with its ROTC program. Serving at UVA for the remainder of his active duty, Follweiler developed a passion for teaching young soldiers.

In 2000, after his active duty was over, Follweiler moved back to his hometown of Bethlehem. Upon his return, Follweiler met Susan, now his wife of four years. They settled in Bethlehem to be close to Follweiler’s family and begin their life together in the town Follweiler knew as home.

With his passion for teaching still intact, he was offered an opportunity to teach at Lehigh University’s ROTC program. Holding the position of executive officer of the Lehigh ROTC program, Follweiler is in charge of all the technical programming and training schedules. One of the few officers at Lehigh not on active duty, Follweiler is here as a member of the reserves. This means he is employed and chooses to be at Lehigh, as opposed to serving army duty. Although he is not a primary instructor at Lehigh, he makes sure Lehigh cadets’ are receiving his high standards of teaching excellence -- “nothing less,” he added.

In addition to spending his time training students at Lehigh, Follweiler has begun to use his army lessons of cultural exposure, responsibility, and determination, to venture into other areas of his interest. Fulfilling his childhood curiosity of keeping current with world events, he entered the political field.

He said he was unable to talk about his opinions on world views due to current involvement with the Army, but Follweiler did express a strong interest in learning from successful foreign government policies to strengthen the U.S. government. “I have ideas that people are close-minded about because they haven’t experienced the same things I have. I have been influenced politically by other countries,” said Follweiler.

His interest in politics sparked ideas of running for mayor of Bethlehem in 2003. A Republican in a town of mostly Democrats, Follweiler was a virtual unknown in the race.

Although his campaign was outspent 10-1, and the party registration was 2-1 against him, Follweiler feels his campaign was a success. “Other cultures have ideas that I feel can be of positive influence to my community. I have no regrets about my campaign because I was able to put my ideas out on the table and that was what I set out to do.”

Always looking to better the lives of others as well as his own, Follweiler has immersed himself in culture for personal growth, improved the skills of soldiers all over the world, and achieved his political dreams of proposing his ideas to society. Follweiler has dived into every opportunity that crossed his path with courage and willpower to perform to the best of his ability. His disciplined ideals and commitment to improving himself is an ideal of the army philosophy that has changed his life. As the future brings freedom to keep achieving dreams and further impact society, James Follweiler will continue to live out his Army motto. Through 21 years of active service in the U.S. Army, James Follweiler has made every attempt to be all he can be, and is still eager to become even more.

Andrea R. Tulcin is a junior at Lehigh University. Her hometown is Scarsdale, N.Y.