Pat Work’s fondest Michie Stadium football memories aren’t individual accomplishments.
Work remembers the grind of practice the most during his four years as an Army player.
The lessons in preparation, situational awareness, decisiveness and teamwork have made Work the leader and soldier he is today. ‘
“Michie Stadium, to me, was the best school that I’ve ever gone to in the Army,” said Work on an episode of the Black Knight Nation podcast in 2021. “So much of what I have applied for 26 years as a professional soldier was learned at Michie Stadium with those guys I played with, with those coaches who taught me, ‘You are either growing or dying, Pat, you never stay the same.’ That is so essentially part of my leadership style and part of my enthusiasm for staying in uniform.”
Work is continuing to make a difference as an officer. The former Army linebacker is moving up the ranks in the U.S. Army. Work, a brigadier general, is the new commander of the 82nd Airborne Division today.
A change of command ceremony was held this morning with Major General Christopher LaNeve passing over duties to Work.
Work recently served as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff. Work also previously served as Deputy Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne and Director of operations, readiness and mobilization in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Army in Washington, D.C.
The respect that Work has earned during his active duty was shown in reactions to Black Knight Nation’s social media post on his appointment earlier this week.
He was an LNO in Afghanistan for us in SOF. Truly one of the best O’s I ever worked with. I sent him a congrats email last promotion and said he would be there if I needed him. Future CSA at least. https://t.co/Ss3mT0bPNh
On the field, Work recorded back-to-back 100-tackle seasons as a junior and senior. Many longtime Army fans will remember “The Tackle,” Work’s stop of Navy fullback Brad Stramanak in the final moments that forced a missed field goal in an Army 16-14 win in 1993 at Giants Stadium.
