NOTHING TO PROVE M MAJ. MICHAEL SIDMAN
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition
TITLE: Assistant product manager YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 2 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 12
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level II in program management
EDUCATION: B.S. in business adminis- tration, University of New Hampshire
AWARDS: Bronze Star Medal, Meritori- ous Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2nd award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd award), Meritorious Unit Cita- tion, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (3rd award), Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge and Combat Infantryman Badge.
aj. Michael Sidman was just a kid when he decided that he wanted to be a Green Beret. “I knew when I was in high school that I wanted to be an American warrior,” he said. “I wanted to prove myself in combat. I wanted to be tested. I wanted to be validated in that way,
I guess. Ever since I chose to go into the Army, I decided that if I was going do it, I wanted to go all in. And in my opinion, that was special forces.” He completed the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of New Hampshire and earned his commission as an infantry officer. Sidman was on his way.
When he was selected for the Army Special Forces Qualification Course as a young officer, all was right with the world. “I was on a high, feeling wonderful,” he said. “I had just married the girl of my dreams, moved to Fort Bragg [North Carolina], started the [qualification] course, bought a house,” and he felt like nothing could stand in his way. “I was cocky,” he said. Te training was difficult, but he made it through “with a lot of grace and a lot of help from friends and peers.” He moved on to his first operational assignment in the U.S. Army Special Forces, and that’s when humility came knocking.
“For me, that was the first time in my Army career that I was a little fish in a giant pond. I was humbled over and over again, and consistently inspired by the people I worked with,” he said. “I got my ego checked in a big way, and it forced me to focus on what really matters. What makes you successful as a leader in the Army? With- out a doubt, I’ve come to realize people are what matter most. Building up your people—each individual and as a team—really is what helps you be successful as a leader and as a manager.”
And with that approach, Sidman found success in the special forces, taking on a series of increasingly competitive and demanding assignments. But his family suffered in his absence, and the strain of the job became too much. He was gearing up for a Tier One special mission unit selection when he could no longer deny the issue. “I real- ized I had found my identity as a Green Beret, being the operations guy, being the ‘hammer,’ if you will. All I thought about was the next deployment, getting my guys home, getting myself home—it’s a primal existence and it wears on you, over time.”
Sidman knew he had to make a change. He applied to transition out of special forces and into acquisition, and it has been everything he hoped for. “I feel like a normal guy again,” he said.
Today, Sidman is living his best life. As the assistant product manager for Preci- sion Fires and Mortars, Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems at the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition, he brings a depth of operational experience to his work. “We focus heavily on artillery muni- tions and mortar weapons and fire control. Right now, I’m primarily working the next-generation high explosive rocket-assisted 155 mm artillery projectile, the
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Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2022
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