November 16, 2023

Gen. Gorham: A Message for NCLA Students

By: Andrew Ellis

This past Thursday, November 9, 2023, the NCLA hosted our annual Drive of Honor ceremony. The guest speaker, Brigadier General J.R. Gorham, spoke about his early life and the decisions he made that shaped his career and life. That Friday, I was able to speak with Gen. Gorham to discuss his speech and collect any further advice for the student body.

While Gen. Gorham had a career in the Army, the Army was not his only desired career. “He [Army Recruiter] told us that if we joined for two years, the Army would pay for our college education.” Even as an 18 year old boy raised by a tobacco farmer, J.R. Gorham still had aspirations for a better life through education.

“Working in communications, I thought it might be a good field to go into, I was thinking about what I was going to do after the Army.”

However, being an enlisted soldier was not where he saw himself long term. He would pursue Officer Candidate School and rank first in his class, soon to join the Officer Corps within the National Guard; “When I joined the National Guard, there happened to be an MP [Military Police] open, so I branched MP.”

Photo Credits: Luca Cranford

While attending East Carolina University, Gen. Gorham majored in history and minored in political science; “Those were the courses that were going to lead to my career in banking.”

While he was climbing the ranks, Gen. Gorham explained that he experienced many situations of discrimination based on the color of his skin; “There was some frustrating times when I wanted to get out because there were some times I didn’t think I was getting fair treatment. A lot of times when I thought I was qualified for the job, I didn’t get the job…I’m not gonna quit, I am gonna work hard!” In this situation, he described how a Captain under him had received nearly all of the credit that was due to him. This was the deciding event that he resolved to prove to his command that he was the man for the job and the only one to consider.

While serving in Iraq between the years 2004 and 2005, Gen. Gorham functioned as the Battalion Commander for the Army’s finance division. He would later return to Iraq for a brief period of time for training. 

As an Officer and commander of thousands, he believed the individual soldier was of utmost importance; “I’m not gonna do my job effectively if I don’t take care of my people…That complete soldier involves his family too, you can’t take care of your soldier if you can’t take care of his family too…When you show a person that you not only care about him, but his family too, he will follow you to the ends of the Earth.”

He retired from his banking position in 2010 and from the Army in 2012. Gen. Gorham now focuses on his writing and his advocacy as part of the Kernersville Town Council.

As a motivational speaker, Gen. Gorham believes in one very important phrase, “Never, and I mean never, let anyone interpret your dream.”