Col. Konata Crumbly promoted to ranking of brigadier general

On Thursday, during an official ceremony held in the Century of Flight hanger at the Museum of Aviation, Colonel Konata Ato Crumbly was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. According to a press release from Georgia Department of Defense, Crumbly is the director of the joint staff, Georgia National Guard (NG) and is now the first Air National Guard (ANG) Brigadier General to lead the joint staff functioning as the principal advisor to The Adjutant General of Georgia on Georgia Army NG and Georgia ANG matters.

Crumbly graduated from Florida A&M University, but he is a native of middle Georgia. He was the first African American to serve as the commander of the 116th Air Control Wing. Aside from his service in the United States Air Force, Crumbly also served in the United States Army, something that is rare among military personnel.

Aside from his family, many of Crumbly’s 116th Air Control Wing alum and his fraternity brothers (Alpha Phi Alpha) were present for the ceremony. Centerville Mayor John Harley and Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms were also among the elite guests who came to witness the occasion.

As a part of his remarks following his pinning and swearing in, Crumbly admitted, “As a kid, growing up in Fort Valley, Georgia, this was out of my scope. But I am humbled and grateful to have this opportunity to not only serve at this level, but also to serve in my home state.”

Crumbly thanked what he called his “two families.” One family being “by blood and marriage” and the other, he called his “military family.” There were key people in both that Crumbly credited for him becoming the man he is today.

“I want to first talk about my family of blood and marriage and the lessons that I’ve learned from them that have helped me, not only navigate my own career,” Crumbly said, “but I think they’ve helped me lead, and by essence, I try to give those same lessons to people that I lead.”

He went on to share a memory of growing up and witnessing his father, who was the first in his family to go to college, get a phone call wherein he received a death threat that stemmed from a political/social issue that his father had become involved in.

“One night, I sat on the sofa across from my father, and we received a phone call,” Crumbly shared. “On the other end of the phone, I heard a man threaten my father and the family. He told him that a group of him and his friends were going to hang my daddy’s N-word by his neck from a tree in the middle of the town square in Fort Valley if he didn’t pull back on what he was doing. My father calmly let the man finish, and then he said, ‘Well, you know where I live. And if you and your friends want to come and get me, you can come and get me. But I’ll tell you this; all of you won’t make it.’”

Crumbly shared that his father remained calm the entire time. Those that threatened him never showed up, but Crumbly said that the experience taught him a lesson. “I learned that strong men never bend to the will of the weak. No matter if the threat is perceived or real, you do not bend.”

Like his father, Crumbly’s mother was also the first in her family to graduate college. From his mother, Crumbly said that he learned independence and risk-taking. Although he admitted to doing only what was necessary to get by in school, Crumbly credited his mother with being instrumental in helping him to reach his full potential. She allowed him to “sneak” and read historical books that were beyond his grade level, knowing that if he could comprehend the information in those books, it would challenge him and help him ultimately reach his goal of becoming a pilot.

His wife, Latisha, was the final “family by blood and marriage” member that Crumbly thanked. He described them as high school sweethearts, saying, “I don’t have many talents, but I know talent when I see it, so I locked her in early; I didn’t let her get away.” From his wife, Crumbly said he learned what the ultimate teammate is like and how to sacrifice and work together toward a common goal.

In thanking his military family, Crumbly specifically mentioned the Georgia National Guard. He praised them for coming together with portable foggers and disinfecting nursing homes throughout Georgia. “Because of those disinfecting teams, Vice President Pence mentioned in one of his daily briefings about how the Georgia Guard came up with a technique to save lives.” Crumbly further stated, “I know you hear people poo-poo on the news all the time about how there’s going to be an empty chair at Thanksgiving for people who have caught this virus, but I want you to know something. Because of the Georgia Guard, there will be people in seats this Thanksgiving, with their families, because of the work we did. It’s like a seatbelt,” he continued. “I can’t tell you how many lives a seatbelt has saved, but I can tell you that it’s more than one. And … there are going to be people sitting with their families this holiday season because of the work that the Georgia Guard did.”

He also hailed the Georgia National Guard for coming together to assist with the civil unrest that took place in Atlanta in May of this year. “There were 1,200 members of the Georgia National Guard in downtown Atlanta. To see how they conducted themselves was awe-inspiring,” Crumbly said. “Even while some were dealing with their own personal conflictions about the situation, they never broke. And to that point, no member of the Georgia National Guard was seriously injured by a protestor, and no one from the Georgia National Guard seriously injured a protestor.”

As Crumbly ended his remarks, he turned toward the area where his family sat and looked at his three children. “Thank you. I love you,” he told them. “Thank you for putting up with my absences, my late nights and my early mornings. Just know that I love you.”

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