ROTC Instructor Promoted to Rank of Major

PROVO, Utah – Jun 24, 2015 – From the mountains of Afghanistan to the streets of Iraq, Jeff Timmons has served his country in some of the most volatile battlegrounds of recent history. His service in the Middle East as well as his time both as a student and an assistant professor of military science at BYU was celebrated as he received a promotion to the rank of major in the Army during a commissioning ceremony on campus.  

Friends, family, students and colleagues gathered together in the Wilkinson Student Center’s Memorial Hall to show support for the leader who has inspired them throughout the years. Lieutenant Colonel Chanda Mofu remarked on the large number of ROTC students present at the ceremony as proof of the impact Major Timmons has had on young people.

“The fingerprints of his leadership and influence will be everlasting,” Mofu says. “The heartfelt leadership and love of these students at BYU is a testament of the kind of work he has been able to do with these future leaders.”

A former BYU ROTC cadet himself, Timmons strived to ensure all of the cadets in the ROTC program are mentored to be the best leaders they can be.

“He’d often seek me out after trainings and teach me how to be more professional in my interactions with others,” says Travis Meservy, a civil engineering senior from Corona, California. “He cared about my goals and gave me specific mentoring on how to be a calm and collected leader under pressure.”

Timmons has exemplified that same discipline in his own educational pursuits. This past April, Timmons graduated from the Marriott School’s Executive MBA program. While he found the correlations between the military and business intriguing, Timmons considers the relationships he has made the best takeaway from the program.

“Seeing how other leaders approach problems was life-changing,” says Timmons of his classmates. “Their excitement for the future and their youthful exuberance were contagious.”

While Timmons will no longer be flying Kiowa helicopters like he has in past tours of duty, he will continue his service at the Command and General Staff Officers College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., for a 10-month course. Upon leaving BYU Timmons reflected upon the impact the university has had upon him professionally and personally.

“BYU saved my life,” Timmons says. “I feel like what I’ve been given here far surpasses anything I gave. The reason I am in the Army today is because of those leaders and officers who cared about me.”

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.