From Rock Springs to the Eagle: Wyoming Guard promotes Amy Henry

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wyoguard/albums/72177720330317325/

Wyoming National Guard

By Joseph Coslett Jr.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Surrounded by family, friends and members of her Guard “family,” Lt. Col. Amy Henry was promoted to the rank of colonel during an afternoon ceremony at the Joint Forces Readiness Center, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Nov. 7. 2025,  marking a new milestone in a 20-year career built on taking care of people.

Brig. Gen. Michelle Mulberry, Director of Joint Staff for the Wyoming National Guard, presided over the ceremony and didn’t hide how much the moment meant in the middle of a long federal government shutdown.

“Finally, something we can be excited about in these crazy days,” Mulberry said. “I would not miss this for the world.”

Mulberry went on to describe Henry as the kind of leader people hope they get to work for at least once in their career.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever met anybody who is more driven, efficient, organized, competent, capable and high performing than you,” she said. “Then on top of that, you add someone who is resilient, caring, humble, respectful, an inspiring leader and an all-around phenomenal human being. That is essentially you in a nutshell.”

She praised Henry as a role model for Soldiers and Airmen and turned to Henry’s parents, Ken and Syd, to thank them for raising “an amazing daughter.” She then spoke directly to Henry’s two children, Aspen and Hudson, telling them that if they grow up to be even half the person their mother is, they will go far in life.

“Anybody would be lucky to call you their boss, their commander, their coworker or their friend,” Mulberry said to Henry.

The ceremony began with ruffles and flourishes, the national anthem and an invocation from retired 1st Sgt. Darryl Jackson before the official party was introduced: Mulberry; Col. Robert Lejuene, Wyoming Army National Guard chief of staff; Command Sgt. Maj. Thad Ehde, the Wyoming National Guard senior enlisted leader; and the guest of honor, Lt. Col. Amy Henry.

Henry, a Rock Springs native, currently serves as the deputy director of the Wyoming Military Department Human Resources Office and the Wyoming Army National Guard G-1. In December she will assume duties as the director of human resources and J-1, responsible for full-time manning and personnel programs across the Wyoming Army and Air National Guard and advising the adjutant general on manpower and personnel issues.

Her path to that role began with what she still laughs about as a simple mistake. After graduating from Rock Springs High School, Henry went to the University of Wyoming intending to meet with the Air Force ROTC commander. She walked into the wrong office and ended up talking with Army ROTC instead.

Not wanting to draw attention to herself as a brand-new cadet, she stuck with it. Four years later she commissioned as an Army officer with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and became the first finance officer assigned to the Wyoming Army National Guard.

Since then, Henry has deployed as a platoon leader with the 960th Brigade Support Battalion to Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, and gone on to command at multiple levels, including the 960th headquarters company, the Officer Candidate School and the 213th Regional Training Institute. She has served with the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, filled in as its commander, and held several key joint and human resources positions that shaped how the Wyoming Guard takes care of its Soldiers, Airmen and technicians.

She also holds a master’s degree in business administration and a graduate certificate in executive coaching, and is a graduate of Leadership Cheyenne and Leadership Wyoming. In 2017, the Wyoming Business Report named her one of the state’s “40 Under 40.”

During the promotion portion of the ceremony, Henry’s husband, Lt. Col. Casey Henry, and their children joined her on stage to pin on her new rank. As guests looked on, the moment highlighted how closely the Henry family is tied to the Guard community.

Before taking the podium, Henry completed a new oath of office, reaffirming her commitment to support and defend the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions and to faithfully discharge the duties of her office as a colonel in the Wyoming Army National Guard.

When she began her remarks, Henry admitted she had known this promotion was coming since March, but still pulled the ceremony together at the last minute after her Senate confirmation earlier in the week. She wanted to make sure her parents could attend before heading south for the winter.

“In the last 72 hours, I’ve felt an abundance of gratitude for all the people who reached out to ask if they could help,” she said, thanking the small team that helped coordinate the event, fix uniforms, print programs, set up refreshments and capture photos.

Henry also took time to recognize mentors and leaders who had guided her at different points in her career and, in some cases, persuaded her to stay in uniform when she seriously considered leaving. She spoke candidly about three seasons that nearly pushed her out: a difficult deployment in 2009, the strain of balancing command and school with two young children in 2017, and a tough workplace environment in the past year combined with unprecedented HR challenges and the ongoing shutdown.

“Again, it is the Soldiers, Airmen and civilians who have given me the reason to stay,” she said. “I want to be the one to continue to lead them and help build their memorable experiences.”

She thanked her current teammates in human resources for sharing the heavy workload and checking on one another during a season when many technicians are working without pay and making hard choices at home. She highlighted colleagues whose humor, honesty and steady leadership helped her push through long, stressful days.

Henry then turned to the people who have been with her the longest — her family. She thanked her children for the hugs and simple questions about how her day went, her in-laws and close family friends for years of last-minute childcare and support, and her parents and brother for the work ethic and encouragement that shaped her into the leader she is today.

“Now that I’m experiencing the joys of parenting, I can see all you did for me,” she told her parents. “I think you did pretty darn good.”

To her kids, she acknowledged the reality of growing up with parents who always seem to have another ceremony, drill weekend or work function. To Casey, she pointed out that he has been there for every promotion, from second lieutenant to colonel, and joked that after 20 years of being her friend and husband, he has earned the right to call her by her new rank.

“Achieving the rank of colonel is a big deal,” Henry said. “On the Army HR side, I was selected to hold one of three control-grade positions, and I do not take this responsibility lightly. I am passionate about personnel and taking care of our service members and employees. I won’t always have the right answers, but I will work every day to get better and to provide the kind of leadership that others deserve.”

Looking back on two decades of service, she described the Wyoming Guard as a family woven together by deployments, late-night missions, pick-up sports teams, ghost tours on overseas trips, funeral honors on back roads and youth fundraisers in office hallways. Those memories, she said, are why she stayed

As she closed, Henry offered a simple message that reflected her outlook as a leader and as a person.

“Life is crazy right now. Wherever you are, believe in positive intent and be kind,” she said. “For the most part, people are doing the best that they can. They’re not trying to ruin your day, make you mad or sabotage you. They’re carrying a lot more than you know, so just be kind.”