BEDFORD, Va. – In Bedford, they run a pretty tight ship at the Bedford Wolfpack Junior ROTC program.
The man behind that mission is a man who has been on many, overseas and in harm’s way.
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Lieutenant Colonel (R) Matthew Payne is the senior army instructor. And by all accounts, he is so much more than any one “title.”
“It takes a passion. He wants to see every kid succeed and doesn’t look at it as the whole. He really looks at each individual kid and sees what they need and works hard to make sure that happens,” said Susie G. Gibson Science and Technology Center principal Curtis Hetherington.
“So are they going into the workforce, to trades, to college? Whatever-- We’re trying to give them life skills that they can use regardless of where they find themselves after high school,” senior army instructor Matthew Payne told 10 News.
The Lieutenant Colonel is an army veteran with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the winner of three bronze stars for his service.
The VMI grad retired from the army in 2017 and got to Bedford soon after. That was after getting a call from First Sergeant Leonard Hutton.
The two now bring successful, real-world military experience to the classroom.
“We get along well. I think we complement each other really well, and I think it shows what we do with the kids,” Hutton said.
LTC(R) Payne is also in charge of the marksmanship team, which routinely travels for competitions.
His team routinely excels at this distinctly military pursuit that develops transferable, real-world skills.
“Marksmanship, to your point, you’ve got to have the training, the focus, the self-control, right to really make that work. All of those are life skills that will be lifelong,” said Blue Eagle Credit Union’s Laurissa Thompson.
When we asked Payne what gets him out of bed each day, even on the roughest of days, the answer was simple: “It’s this,” Payne said, “There’s 52 of ‘this.’ It’s those kids, you know? I can’t let them down. I feel an obligation to the kids to come in and give my best because it’s a tough world out there.”
Both Payne and the Susie G. Gibson School of Science and Technology each receive $250 as a reward.
Lieutenant Colonel Payne and his wife, Mary Catherine, have eight children. Four of the eight have been involved with the junior ROTC program.