For many, military service is rooted in their DNA. They grew up witnessing the sacrifices their family members made for the country. For some, like MOAA member and retired Army Maj. Gen. Byron Bagby, this was when they first heard the call to serve themselves.

“Our family business is the military,” Bagby said. “I have always felt an obligation to serve my country and to be a part of something greater than myself.” 

Bagby completed a 33-year Army career, during which he was assigned to five of the branch’s 10 divisions. These assignments took him and his family to bases all around the world, including South Korea, Egypt, Germany, and the Netherlands. He was awarded two Distinguished Service Medals, two Legions of Merit, and a Bronze Star Medal, and he has a Ranger Tab and is a master parachutist.

He also earned a master’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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“I like leading,” he said. “The biggest payoff is that I have gotten to watch those I lead develop and now being able to entrust in them as they fight for this country.”

Since retiring from the Army, Bagby has focused on anything but retirement. “I don’t like the word 'retirement,'” he said. “I prefer to think about it as a transition off active duty, into a different phase of life, because I will continue to serve until I no longer can.”

In 2011, he began his second career as the president and co-founder of BMB Strategies, an independent firm that provides business consulting in various areas.

Soon after, in 2012, he became vice president for mentorship and ROTC programs of the ROCKS Inc., the largest professional military officers’ organization with a majority African American membership, serving in that role until 2016.

“My role at the ROCKS began as an opportunity to reach the youth through ROTC programs and continue to mentor and lead the next generation of servicemembers,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Byron Bagby, then-U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army chief of staff, right, shakes hands with a fellow soldier during an event honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday in Heidelberg, Germany, in 2009. (Army photo)

Bagby, who has been a member of the ROCKS Inc. since 1996, continues to be involved with the organization, currently serving as its liaison to the Association of the United States Army.

True to his personal mission of committing his life to leading and educating others, Bagby shared insight for those who are transitioning out of active duty service: “If you are approaching a civilian career, the best thing you can do is start preparing early. Start thinking about where you want to live, what your family values, and rely on your mentors,” he said.