Colonel Retires After 27 Years of Making His Mark on History – And Having Fun

Col. Tim Newman of Fisher, Ill., retired from the Illinois Army National Guard after 27 years of “standing the watch.” Family, friends and fellow service members celebrated nearly three decades in uniform during an Oct. 10 retirement ceremony at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
“I now look back and can’t believe everything that I’ve accomplished in the military and seeing how I was a part of something much bigger than myself,” said Newman to family and friends who traveled from as far away as North Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, and Texas to attend the ceremony. “I would have never imagined everything that I’ve done, places I’ve been, and the amazing people I’ve met who I now call my brothers and sisters.”
During his 27 years in uniform, Newman:
· Traveled to more than 20 countries.
· Deployed three times (Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait).
· Built roads and fences along the U.S./Mexican border.
· Planned and executed transportation logistics for the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago.
· Orchestrated the building of an ammunition holding depot in Germany.
· Improved roads in the Dominican Republic.
· Improved roads and widened lakes in Botswana.
· Built military-to-military strategic partnerships in Singapore, Israel, and Romania.
· Was highly involved in the Illinois National Guard’s State Partnership Program with Poland, traveling to Poland more than 10 times.
· Served in Afghanistan as part of the Polish Army’s 1st Armor Brigade as a brigade battle captain with the Illinois National Guard’s Bilateral Embedded Support Team A5.
· Helped champion the Illinois National Guard’s new State Partnership Program with Portugal.
· Met celebrities such as Bill Murray, Gary Sinise, and Charlie Daniels.
· Was one of two Illinois Army National Guard officers “coined” by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta during the 2012 NATO Summitt.
· Met President Barack Obama and countless ambassadors.
· Worked with senior military leaders such as General George W. Casey, General Mark Milley, and General Stephen J. Townsend.
All this occurred as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard.
Newman’s spouse, Evie, and son, Jameson, shared his military journey. Although Evie could not deploy with him, she did serve as the Family Readiness Group leader for all of Newman’s deployments and served at one point on the Joint Family Advisory Council and State Family Readiness Group.
Newman’s father, Coast Guard Capt. Frederick Newman Jr., swore his son into the Illinois Army National Guard in September 1999. Fast-forward 27 years and Tim Newman leaves a lasting legacy with the Illinois Army National Guard.
“Tim has not only been a senior leader, commander, and staff officer to our 10,000 Soldiers; he has been a mentor and Soldier-first leader that strived to change and positively impact the lives of our people for 27 years,” said Brig. Gen. Lenny Williams, the Assistant Adjutant General – Army of the Illinois National Guard and Commander of the Illinois Army National Guard. “His legacy will live on in the lives of those he led and mentored.”
One of those he mentored and befriended was the ceremony’s master of ceremonies, Col. Shawn Nokes, the Illinois Army National Guard’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics. “You were always about the team, and you were extremely effective building relationships inside and outside the chain of command,” Nokes told his friend.
Newman was the support operations officer and Nokes was his deputy during 2014 deployment of the Illinois Army National Guard’s 108th Sustainment Brigade to the Middle East. During that time, the pair planned and coordinated the airdrop of more than 310 bundles of food and water into the Singar Mountains of Iraq where thousands of minority Yezidis had fled ISIS extremist forces. These bundles saved countless lives. It was just one example of the logistics missions that Newman and Nokes planned and coordinated that enabled the U.S. and its Allies to counter the so-called “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria.
They also worked together on domestic response missions, such as the Capital Response Mission after the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. as well as numerous exercises and training events. Among Newman’s qualities as a leader was taking advantage of his Soldiers’ strengths, thus putting them in positions where they would succeed, Nokes said.
“Thank you for allowing me to be me,” Nokes said. “Thank you for your leadership and counsel. Thank you for being you. Lastly, thank you for treating me like your brother from day one.”
Throughout his military career, Newman said he had three leadership mantras throughout his career:
1\. “I’m not going to tell you to do something that I haven’t done or am not willing to do myself\.”
2\. “I will let you fail\, but I won’t let you fall\. It’s ok to fail as failing is part of the learning process\, but if you continue to fail at the same thing and didn’t learn from your mistake then that is a whole different conversation\.”
3\. “Have fun\!\! If you’re not having fun\, then you’re working and who wants to work?”
Newman worked on many ‘life or death’ missions but always seemed to make these tough missions a little easier with an often-satirical sense of humor. Following Newman’s direction to make his retirement ceremony funny, Nokes managed to weave 27 movie quotes into the ceremony script – one for each year of Newman’s service.
In one of the tough missions, Newman served as a combat engineer platoon leader in Anbar Province, Iraq, in 2005. He returned from Iraq to take command of the 135th Engineer Co., converting the unit to the 631st Engineer Support Co. Then, in 2010, he was off to combat again, this time with BEST A5 and the Polish in Afghanistan.
After returning from Afghanistan, he served on the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade’s staff before serving as the operations officer for the 766th Engineer Battalion. Then it was overseas again in 2014 as the support operations officer with the Chicago-based 108th Sustainment Brigade, which is now rebranded as the 34th Division Support Brigade.
After returning from Kuwait, he would work some staff jobs with the Illinois National Guard headquarters and the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, stand up a new unit – the 1886th Engineer Facility Detachment - and then take command 766th Brigade Engineer Battalion in September 2016.
Following battalion command, he briefly served in another headquarters staff position before being selected to command the 108th Sustainment Brigade in October 2020, leading 2,600 Soldiers and paving the way for the brigade’s divisional alignment with the 34th Infantry Division out of Minnesota.
After brigade command, Newman served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy and Plans under the Illinois National Guard Joint Staff. Starting in July 2023, Newman developed strategic plans planning the future for the Illinois National Guard’s Soldiers and Airmen.
Newman holds numerous awards including two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars, three Meritorious Service Medals, and the Bronze Polish Army Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. He was also a national recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.
Newman graduated from a multitude of military courses including the Defense Strategy Course, the Joint Task Force Commander Training Course, the Dual Status Commanders Course, and the U.S. Army War College. His civilian education includes a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, a masters of architecture and masters of science in civil engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is slated to complete a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign in May 2027.
Newman works as the Assistant Dean of Library for Facilities at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. Newman plans to take Evie and Jameson to Poland in the coming year so they can experience that nation’s culture and history as he has.
Newman concluded his remarks at his retirement ceremony by reading a poem his father wrote for him:
“For over twenty-seven years,
This Soldier has stood the watch.
While some of us were in our bunks at night,
This Soldier stood the watch.
While some of us were in school learning our trade,
This Soldier stood the watch.
Many times he would see his family standing there,
Needing his guidance and help,
Needing that hand to hold during those hard times,
But still he stood the watch.
He stood the watch for over twenty-seven years.
He stood the watch so that we, our families,
And our fellow countrymen could sleep soundly in safety,
Each and every night,
Knowing that a Soldier stood the watch.
Today we are here to say:
“Soldier …. The watch stands relieved.
Relieved by those YOU have trained, guided, and led.
Soldier you stand relieved … we have the watch!”

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