Marshall County resident Adam Truex, center, spent 21 years with the U.S. Navy, eight years in active duty and 13 in the Reserves. (Photo Provided)

GLEN DALE — After 21 years in active and reserve duty with the U.S. Navy, Marshall County resident Adam Truex still uses the tenets learned in the military as he has climbed up the leadership ladder in his work life.

Truex now sits as executive director of the Ohio Mid-Eastern Regional Education Service Agency, an organization that is part of the Ohio Education Computer Network that serves 11 counties in southeast Ohio, including more than 50 school districts with more than 50,000 students. The agency helps those districts and students by providing innovative educational services

Truex has been with OME-RESA for more than two decades, and the foundation for his success was built as a young Navy officer.

“One of the things you learn in the military, especially when you get into higher ranks and leadership, is you’ve got to take care of your people,” he said. “Take care of your people and they’ll take care of you. I think that’s the big thing, maintaining relationships and holding yourself accountable.”

When Truex entered the Navy after graduating from John Marshall High School in 1992, he became a cryptologic technician. It’s a specialized corner of the intelligence-gathering field, Truex said. He was given top security clearances to work in the fields of secure communication and intercepting signals to gather information on U.S. adversaries.

It wasn’t his first choice, but Truex said it ultimately was the right choice for him, and one he called “eye-opening.”

“You get a different view of the world based on being exposed to intelligence and what’s going on in the world, in terms of what we do nationally to protect the country,” he said, “and you learn about the intelligence apparatus. So it was an awesome experience.”

It also at times felt burdensome, he said. At the highest security clearances cryptologic technicians learn information about enemies that they can’t share with anyone else. There also are times when the intelligence community gets criticized in a way Truex believes is unfair, which is something he says he continues to struggle with.

“They’re doing God’s work in hell’s kitchen with gathering intelligence and making sure we’re safe as a country,” he said. “So that’s something I still struggle with, especially when you talk to people about what’s going on in the world, and try to explain to them the geopolitical situations in these regions and how it impacts us nationally.

“Folks will say, ‘Well, that’s not our problem. We need to worry about what’s going on in our country,” Truex added. “And I get that, but you also need to be worried about what’s going on across the pond, because it affects us.”

Much of Truex’s eight years of active duty were spent supporting NATO in Yugoslavia and Serbia. He transitioned to reserve duty after 2000 and did much of his work stateside. He started his civilian career working for General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company, but he and his family desired to move closer to home, and he got the chance to work with OME-RESA.

Though his military career has ended, his work for military veterans continues. Truex spent time on the board of directors for Helping Heroes, an Ohio Valley nonprofit that helps veterans who may be struggling with housing or other needs. He now is the chairman of the Veterans Advisory Council for the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance. The council advises the state’s DVA secretary on general administrative policies of the department, and also advises the governor and Legislature concerning legislation affecting veterans and their families.

“I’m just trying to give back and make sure that I’m still in that mode of serving others before myself.”

At 51 years old, Truex said he’s kind of a bridge between the older veterans of wars like Vietnam and younger veterans who served in places like the Middle East. He’s really trying to engage the younger generations of military veterans to make sure they’re looking out for their own best interests. In the military, Truex said soldiers are instilled with a “suck it up” mentality, and may choose to tough things out rather than seek needed help.

Truex wants to do that for every veteran he can. It’s another part of what has been instilled in him through the Navy. People have more shared experiences and values than they have adversarial experiences and values. It’s important to work together, especially in a present that has grown more divisive.

“I think for me, it’s always like, hey, there’s more people out there in the world, regardless of their political affiliation, that have more in common than they really realize,” he said. “I always remember from deployment that it didn’t matter if we all had different values, we all had different opinions on things. When we were on deployment, all that mattered was, I know everyone got back safe and sound to their families. And we ended up knowing that we have more in common than we don’t.

“Some of the strongest friendships and bonds I’ve had are because of that mindset, and it’s something I try to live out in my own life today.”