This month’s employee profile highlights Capt. Eric Lindberg with UGA’s Army ROTC. Read about Eric’s path after graduating UGA in 2014 and what led him back to Athens, and learn what Eric enjoys doing in and out of the office as well as some exciting upcoming events coordinated by the Army ROTC.
Q – Can you tell us about your current role and responsibilities with UGA ROTC? What does your day-to-day look like?
A – I am an assistant professor of military science and an operations officer. I teach the military science class for the 2nd-year cadets, and I coordinate and guide senior cadets regarding events throughout the year, such as the 9/11 stair climb memorial event in Sanford Stadium, rifle and land navigation training at Fort Eisenhower, squad and platoon field exercises, and the culminating summer camp at Fort Knox, where cadets from all over the country receive training and evaluations on their tactics, skills, and leadership.
I also work with our recruiting officer to develop strategies to bring promising leaders, either graduating high school or transferring, to UGA and our ROTC program.
Q – What has your career path been like, and what led you to UGA?
A – I graduated from UGA in 2014 with degrees in finance and management from Terry College, and I became a consultant with the firm Protiviti, working with clients all over the country and in the Atlanta area. I felt like I had traveled a proven path to success that anyone would be proud of, but I decided while I was still young, I wanted some more adventure in my life. I had strongly considered the military growing up, so in the summer of 2016, I decided it was the time.
I was commissioned as an armor officer through Officer Candidate School after completing Basic Training at Fort Benning, GA (now Fort Moore). I then went on to attend the Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course, Army Reconnaissance Course, Ranger School, and Airborne School before transferring to my first duty station at Fort Hood, TX (now Fort Cavazos).
I served as an Abrams tank platoon leader and tank company executive officer, with a European rotation to Poland and Germany in support of NATO. My tank crew and I had the distinct privilege of representing Armor Branch in Bastogne, Belgium at the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, commemorating General Patton and his armored forces liberating the town and the surrounded 101st Airborne Soldiers.
When my three years were done in Texas, I was promoted from lieutenant to captain, became a Military Intelligence Officer, and we moved to Fort Huachuca, AZ to receive military intelligence training. Upon graduation, I was stationed at Fort Lewis, WA and I spent two years in the Army’s first and only Long Range Fires Battalion, where I served as the lead intelligence officer and an assistant operations officer, and later as the forward support company commander.
In the Army tradition, once you’ve mastered a job, it’s time to relocate and find your next challenge. I knew we’d be moving in the Summer of 2024; the question was where. Knowing UGA had an ROTC program, and that it was a little dream of ours to move back to Athens, I cold-called Lieutenant Colonel Layfield and asked for a job. As fate would have it, a position just became available, and LTC Layfield called me back, and I got the job.
One transcontinental journey later, my wife, daughter, and I made our way from Olympia to Athens.
Q – Are you, or UGA’s Army ROTC overall, working on any new upcoming programs/projects that you are excited about?
A – This is an incredible time for UGA ROTC, and the Cadre has the rare luxury of being fully staffed with amazing officers, non-commissioned officers, and civilians. With our team, outstanding cadets, and invaluable support from the University, we are building the Army ROTC brand across campus and in the Athens community as the premier organization for student-leaders. Our philosophy is that the cadets are students first and ROTC is meant to enhance their UGA experience.
This is the first year we’ve hosted a 9/11 memorial event in Sanford Stadium, and once we’ve got a good rep under our belts, we will look to grow the event in 2025 to invite all campus organizations, fire departments, law enforcement, faculty, staff, and families. The sky is the limit with an event like this, so we want to be good partners with the UGA team that makes it possible.
We also host a 5k run in the Spring to raise money for the program and our philanthropy that benefits retired military working dogs. I hope the energy from the Cadre and cadets takes that event to new levels of success. I hope that before my time at UGA is done, Army ROTC is proudly featured in the cultural fabric of UGA.
Q – What do you like to do outside of the office? – Are you involved in any organizations, or do you have any favorite hobbies?
A – I am a faculty advisor to my fraternity chapter, where I was a founder and the president. My wife and I love traveling; seeing the world and exploring all that America has to offer. The beauty in the pain of moving so much in the Army is we have gotten to experience so much of the vast array of cultures our own nation has to offer.
We’ve floated the Colorado River and enjoyed brisket in Austin. We witnessed the beauty of the Grand Canyon and Sedona and survived the Tarantula Migration in Arizona. As different as the Pacific Northwest is from Georgia, we grew to love the mist and moss and mountains. Everything felt like a Tolkien adventure in Washington, and the oysters are delicious.
Sure, people can travel over a long weekend to experience all that, but we got to live it nearly every day at each of my duty assignments.
Otherwise, we’re diehard Dawgs fans. We love cooking and are competent enough wine connoisseurs to defend a good Red Mountain, WA cabernet against anything coming out of France.
Q – Do you have any fun facts your coworkers might not know about you?
A – My wife, Lilly, and I are both from the Atlanta area, and we started dating our senior year in high school; she went to St Pius, and I went to Norcross High School. We both graduated from UGA in 2014. This duty assignment is the closest we’ve lived to our friends and family since I joined the Army over eight years ago.
When my wife and I got engaged, the first thing we did after calling our families was check next year’s football schedule so we could claim the Bye Week for our wedding. We got married on Milledge at the Hardeman-Sams Estate, so you could say Athens is definitely in our blood.
Our daughter, Gwen was born shortly before Georgia beat Bama for the National Championship, so we like to joke that she was one of the few Dawgs fans to have never known the heartache of defeat.
