Tracey Poirier (b. 1974) is an officer in the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

. A veteran of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, she has served in the military since 1991, and has been the director of the joint staff for the

Vermont National Guard The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys. Both units use the original Revolutionary War-era Flag of the Green Mo ...

since 2022. Poirier's command assignments included the 186th Brigade Support Battalion (2013 to 2016) and 124th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) (2019 to 2021). She was promoted to brigadier general in July 2023, and her awards include the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with two

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

with oak leaf cluster, and

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

Early life

Tracey L. (Jones) Poirier was born in 1974 and is originally from

Genesee, Pennsylvania Genesee Township is a township in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States and lies near the source of the Genesee River. The population was 729 at the 2020 census. The name Genesee derives from Indian term for "beautiful valley". Geography A ...

. A 1992 graduate of Northern Potter High School, she was her class valedictorian. Poirier joined the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

in 1991, and served as a unit supply specialist in

Wellsville, New York Wellsville is a town and largest community in Allegany County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 7,099. Wellsville is centrally located in the south half of the county, north of the Pennsylvania borde ...

. Poirier attended

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

with a

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

scholarship from 1992 to 1996. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English and Media Communications. Poirier was awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

, a first for a Norwich University graduate, and studied at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where she received a

Master of Studies A Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St., MSt, or MStud; ) is the holder of a postgraduate degree awarded by the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, the University of ...

degree in Social Anthropology in 1997 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management in 1998.

Start of career

Poirier served in the Marines for eight years, including postings with United States Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, at

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southe ...

, Virginia, and at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. While stationed in Hawaii, she deployed in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Poirier joined the Vermont Army National Guard in 2006, and her assignments included company commander, Tactical Information Operations Course instructor, and personnel staff officer (S-1) of the 124th Regiment (Regional Training Institute). She later served as S-1 of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team's rear detachment during the brigade's deployment to Afghanistan, and support operations officer for the 186th Brigade Support Battalion.

Continued career

Poirier commanded the 186th Brigade Support Battalion from September 2013 to April 2016. She then attended the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

(AWC), from which she graduated in June 2017 with a Master of Strategic Studies degree. Poirier was an AWC Carlisle Scholar as well as a Distinguished Graduate. In 2017 and 2018, Poirier again served in Iraq, this time with

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

. She commanded the 124th Regiment from April 2019 to April 2021. She was the first female commander of the 124th Regiment Regional Training Institute. In January 2021, Poirier left her position as assistant vice president for student affairs at Norwich University to become the full-time chief of staff for the Vermont Army National Guard. In May 2022, she was assigned as the Vermont National Guard's full-time director of the joint staff. She was promoted to brigadier general in July 2023, to date from November 2022, the first female member of the Vermont Army National Guard to attain general officer's rank.

Family

Poirier is married to Colonel Leonard J. Poirier, who assumed command of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2022. They are the parents of four children, and reside in Barre Town.

Awards

Poirier's awards include: *

with two

s *

with oak leaf cluster *

Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal A Reserve Good Conduct Medal refers to any one of the five military conduct awards, four of which are currently issued and one of which was previously issued, by the United States Armed Forces to members of the Reserve and National Guard. The pr ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal The Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal is a United States Department of Defense service award and campaign medal. The medal was established by Executive Order on 30 March 2016 by U.S. President Barack Obama. The medal may be awarded to members o ...

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-SM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created through Executive Order 13289 on 12 March 2003, by President George W. Bush. The medal recognizes those military service ...

Army Service Ribbon The Army Service Ribbon (ASR) is a military award of the United States Army that was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981 as announced in Department of the Army General Order 15, dated 10 October 1990. The Navy, Marine Corps, ...

* Army

Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...

with numeral 2 In 2018, Norwich University began construction of a memorial staircase to commemorate the bicentennial of the school's 1819 founding. The steps were built between the southeast corner of the Upper Parade Ground and the Sullivan Museum and History Center, and contain the names of 78 prominent individuals, including Poirier, who are associated with the university.

Effective dates of promotion

Poirier's effective dates of promotion are: * Brigadier general, 30 November 2022 *

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, 28 February 2019 * Lieutenant colonel, 2 May 2014 *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, 23 November 2009 *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, 17 September 2002 *

First lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

, 24 May 1998 * Second lieutenant, 24 May 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poirier, Tracey 1974 births Living people Female United States Marine Corps personnel Female United States Army officers United States Army War College alumni Norwich University alumni Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Norwich University faculty People from Barre, Vermont American women academics 21st-century American women