Thomas Tiernan, II - Army Strong Stories

Catching Up

Thomas Tiernan, II — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:33:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
A lot has happened since my last post in September. The past six months have been a whirlwind of activities and events and only in the past two weeks have I been able to take a break to take it all in. On September 20th, I received the news I had prostate cancer. While it was not unexpected, it was still a shock. The doctor carefully explained the treatment options as my wife and I tried to absorb the news. There is never a good time...read more

Nostalgia

Thomas Tiernan, II — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 02:27:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
As I waited with Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army Top Fuel Team for the first run of the 2011 NHRA Mac Tools U.S. National on Friday night, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. For a few minutes I was transported back to my first U.S. Nationals in 2000. It was a cool September evening, not anything yesterday’s close to 90 degrees. There were butterflies in my stomach as I waited for the first run by the brand new U.S. Army Race Team. It was hard to...read more

2011 All-American Bowl

Thomas Tiernan, II — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:34:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
The 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl is over. The players, musicians, coaches, Soldier-Heroes, and parents are headed home. The signage is coming down and the lobby looks naked. The frenzy of activity and the excitement dissipated. The assets in the Army Strong Zone are being packed up and will head out Monday morning. The remainder of my team and I will head back to Fort Knox Tuesday tired but very proud of the success of this year’s game and...read more

Veterans’ Day

Thomas Tiernan, II — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:05:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
LaVerne, California is a small town just outside Los Angeles and just across the street from the LA County Fairplex and the NHRA track. It’s a quaint place with tree lined streets; Craftsman style homes; tree lined streets and mom and pop shops. A first glance, you might think that LaVerne is just a stereotypical “liberal” anti-military California town. But a closer look reveals that no matter what their political leanings, this is a town proud of its...read more

My Team

Thomas Tiernan, II — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 07:21:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
It has been a busy couple of weeks and I have fallen behind in my blogging. My team and I have been really running and gunning the past month or so with a variety of events to be planned and executed. I have an exceptional team that really shows the quality of the Soldiers our Army produces and the opportunities serving as a Soldier or civilian provides. Joe Cross is a retired sergeant first class and leads our U.S. Army All-American Bowl team. Joe enlisted as...read more

10 Years of NHRA Part 2

Thomas Tiernan, II — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:04:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
Not all the memories of our NHRA program are great ones. Our failure to qualify at Englishtown in 2004 is clearly etched in my mind. It was a cold bad weekend all around. It was then that I learned of Don Schumacher’s plan to replace Wes Cerney with Alan Johnson. Most of the 2003 season was one long nightmare. We just couldn’t seem to catch a break or put the gremlins in a box and shift them off. Then there was the day I learned that Alan Johnson was...read more

Finding “The Sarge”

Thomas Tiernan, II — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:16:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Army’s partnership with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). It has been a remarkable partnership that has had its share of highs and lows. Over the rest of the season, I’ll share some of the highlights both good and bad. In the spring of 2000, we got word that the Congress was going to pass legislation directing us to conduct a five-year motorsports outreach...read more

Sonoma---the results

Thomas Tiernan, II — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:11:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
Any trip I make to Sonoma is filled with great memories. Besides the fact that my son, Patrick, was born at the Presidio of San Francisco, my assignment there was one of my favorite. And it was 10 years ago at Infineon Raceway that the Army was introduced to Don and Tony Schumacher. Wednesday morning I turned off the Garmin and drove through San Francisco, through the Presidio, and across the Golden Gate Bridge visiting even for just a few minutes my favorite...read more

Sonoma, here I come.

Thomas Tiernan, II — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:46:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
I’m off to Sonoma, CA this week for the NHRA race there. With only 5 races left before the start of the Countdown to the Championship, it is an important weekend for the U.S. Army team. Our loss in the quarterfinals in Seattle on Sunday dropped us down to third in the points standing. Ideally, you want to be in first or second heading into the countdown. Third is not bad, but in a year when the competition is particularly strong, the closer you are to the...read more

A belated birthday salute

Thomas Tiernan, II — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:57:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
On June 12th one of the people I most admire quietly celebrated his 86th birthday. In the past, he has marked the event jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. I have had the honor of being present at some of former President George H.W. Bush’s parachute jumps including his accelerated free-fall jump in 1997 and tandem jumps for his 80th birthday and into the rededication ceremony for his Presidential Library. I first met President Bush 41 in 1988 when...read more

He’s in the Army now.

Thomas Tiernan, II — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:32:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
In the Army hospitality hauler at the United Association Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, IL this weekend sat a picture of Tony Schumacher and a 12 year old boy. It is one of thousands of photos the driver of the U.S. Army top fuel dragster takes each season. What makes this photo special is the impact meeting Tony Schumacher and watching the Soldiers supporting the event 8 years ago had on the life of Corbin Mehrbrodt. “I saw Tony eight years ago and decided a drag racer is...read more

Tradition of Service

Thomas Tiernan, II — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:09:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
Today I have been listening to the soundtracks from “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” as I begin to work on the video which will honor the 90 or so Soldier-Heroes who we’ll honor at the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. I recently learned that my favorite uncle, Paul C. Assum, served in the 4th Marine Division in the Pacific during World War II. I always knew Uncle Paul was a Marine but never knew until the last few weeks where...read more

One Great Week

Thomas Tiernan, II — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:12:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
Last week was one of those week’s the makes all the hard work and sacrifice worth it. It was the kind of week that rejuvenates your energy and lifts your spirit. As I got in the car for the two and a half hour drive I had no idea what a wonderful week it would be. Never imagined I would spend the better part of a day talking with Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis or Mrs. Susan Castellini, majority owner of my beloved Cincinnati Reds. I didn’t give much thought to the wonderful experience we...read more

Going Home

Thomas Tiernan, II — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:25:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
This week my duties take me to my hometown, Cincinnati , where the Army is a sponsor of Major League Baseball’s Civil Rights Game. On Wednesday and Thursday we’ll be hosting a tandem jump clinic by the U.S. Army Parachute Team—the Golden Knights. Approximately 25 local influencers will jump from a perfectly good airplane at 12,500 feet. Among those who will plunge to the earth attached to one of the world’s best parachutists are Cincinnati...read more

Victory

Thomas Tiernan, II — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:08:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
Someone once told me that the Army’s motorsports program wasn’t about winning. Sure, we aren’t participating in the NHRA or NASCAR to collect wins. I suspect no sponsor is. And we could achieve many of our objectives no matter how well the drivers perform. But winning sure makes the job easier and a lot more fun. Sunday was another of those sweet days as Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher captured his 63rd career victory. Inspired by the...read more

Introduction

Thomas Tiernan, II — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:18:00 GMT

By: Thomas Tiernan, II
My name is Tom Tiernan and I’m Chief of Outreach and Event Marketing for the U.S. Army Accessions Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. I’m responsible for the Army’s participation in NASCAR, the National Hot Rod Association; the U.S. Army All-American Bowl; Essence Music Festival; Spring Break and a variety of other events. It is arguably the best job in the Army. Growing up, I never even imagined, I would have a job like this. In fact, when I was asked to start the...read more