The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas Lottery Veteran Recognition: Garry Patterson
09.20.2024 | Longhorn Sports Properties / Learfield
The retired U.S. Army Colonel will be honored when Texas Football hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 21.
Garry Patterson heralds his soldiers-turned-students for their dedication, motivation and discipline, tapping into these qualities to help them apply their Army skills and thrive in various sectors.
A career U.S. Army officer, Patterson transitioned out of full-time military service and continues to serve in the field of professional education by converting his complex military experience into useful training programs. Currently, Patterson is a project management faculty member for the Extended Campus Custom Training team at The University of Texas at Austin.
Patterson offers custom military credentialing Project Management Certificate Program courses for members of the total Army (active component, National Guard and Army Reserve), focusing on soldiers who want to accelerate their military careers or successfully transition to civilian service. Many of the students are soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard or soldiers stationed at various active posts such as Fort Cavazos, Texas; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Moore, Georgia; Fort Liberty, North Carolina; and Fort Wainright, Alaska.
"I help soldiers think situationally and apply logic when making decisions based on what they already know. It's a matter of translating Army language into project management language and concepts," said Patterson, who retired as a colonel with more than 30 years of military service.
Patterson's eight-week, 60-hour certification programs are designed to prepare students for the rigorous Project Management Professional (PMP)® standardized assessment. In addition to the twice-weekly lectures, Patterson also developed a student workbook from his body of knowledge to help students think through project and process protocol, as well as business case analysis, in relation to military frameworks.
"They can find a battle rhythm for how to study and practice techniques," Patterson said.
More than 800 soldiers have completed Patterson's programs, which fuse his academic studies and military service. Patterson has a master's degree in secondary education from the University of North Texas and holds advanced degrees from the United States Army War College and United States Army Logistics Management College.
As full-time Chief of Staff in the Texas Army National Guard, Patterson directed and supported 15,000 soldiers in 90 Texas communities. Additionally, during overseas deployment, Patterson served as the Chief of Staff for Multi-National Division (North) during peacekeeping missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina with an international coalition of forces from 10 nations.
"You learn from other cultures," Patterson said.
Patterson tapped into this knowledge years later, following his Army retirement, when he was invited to lead and instruct human terrain courses at Fort Leavenworth. Eight-person teams of military personnel and civilian cultural experts were dropped into role-playing scenarios in preparation for battle surges throughout the Middle East.
"The focus was how to integrate Army planning with cultural sensitivities," Patterson said.
With two sons deployed with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan at the time, Patterson said this training role was an opportunity to continue to contribute to the overall mission. In total, Patterson assisted in the training of more than 58 teams. The human terrain teams were integrated into the planning staff at division and brigade level commands, which resulted in the reduction of military and civilian casualties by 60 percent.
Patterson is president of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Texas Capital Area Chapter. This chapter is the home chapter of the U.S. Army Futures Command and the Texas Army National Guard in the Greater Austin area. AUSA is a nonprofit educational and professional development association serving America's Army and supporting a strong national defense while providing a voice for the Army, supporting soldiers and honoring those who have served to advance the security of the nation.
"I believe in retiring early and often," Patterson said. "Really, it's stay busy and always find a way to keep serving."
Thanks to the Texas Lottery, great things are happening all across Texas. The Texas Lottery now consistently contributes more than $1.9 billion of lottery revenue each year to good causes like public education and veterans' assistance programs. Beginning with the first veterans' dedicated scratch ticket game in 2009, the Texas Lottery has now contributed over $246 million to the Fund for Veterans' Assistance.
Since 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $39 billion in revenue for the state of Texas. Through strict adherence to their vision, mission and core values, the Texas Lottery is dedicated to ensuring that this support continues.