Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Houston | Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Yeargen Jr. and Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Evans weather...... read more read more
Subscribe
JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Leading Soldiers at the most basic of levels is one of the most important jobs of an Army noncommissioned officer, and a milestone that all enlisted men and women strive for. Ten newly promoted sergeants serving with Task Force Wolf Pack were ushered into the noncommissioned officer corps by way of an induction ceremony held on Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 15, 2014.
Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Yeargen Jr., a native of Grass Valley, California, who serves as senior enlisted leader of Task Force Pale Horse, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, presided over the ceremony and was the distinguished guest speaker.
“What I like most about NCO induction ceremonies is that it helps all of us in the room who are wearing NCO stripes to visit the reasons why we became NCO’s, and the values that we uphold in our corps,” Yeargen said.
Yeargen stressed in his speech the inductees should learn humility through taking responsibility for and learning from the mistakes they as new leaders will undoubtedly make. He also put emphasis on the value of individual Soldiers as human beings who merit respect.
“As NCOs, you are in charge of the most sacred responsibility you could ever have in your lifetime, and that is of taking care of Soldiers,” Yeargen said. “That is somebody’s son or daughter, that is somebody’s father or mother, so do not take that charge lightly.”
Yeargen also gave them a model for which the newly promoted noncommissioned officers can monitor their progress, set goals as leaders and help newly enlisted troops pattern their military careers for success.
“It’s been said that the greatest form of flattery is imitation. If your Soldiers are imitating you because you’re setting the right example, you’ll see it and you’ll know it,” Yeargen said. “But the true measure of leadership is that everybody tries to leave the place that he or she has assumed better than when they found it. If you always do this, you’ll always be successful.”
To welcome the new noncommissioned officers into the corps, Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Evans, a Fayetteville, North Carolina, native who serves as the senior enlisted leader of Task Force Wolf Pack, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 82nd CAB, spoke to the Soldiers and offered advice from his thirty years of experience.
“I welcome each of you as you embark on an exciting new chapter of your military career as you transition from trooper to NCO,” Evans said. “During this chapter of your career, you will be expected to mature and grow and to meet chaos head on and find a way to make order from that chaos for both you and your troopers.”
The ceremony also included a brief dramatization of what is expected of an noncommissioned officer, as well as the lighting of three-colored candles that display great symbolic meaning the inductees were charged to remember: the red represents the bloodshed on the battlefield, the white represents purity of heart and mind, and the blue candle represents loyalty and unity in the noncommissioned officer corps.
Each of the newly promoted Soldiers were formally welcomed into the noncommissioned officer corps by passing through an archway with all of the noncommissioned officers ranks emblazoned on both sides symbolizing the beginning of their career as leaders.
| Date Taken: | 11.17.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2014 01:55 |
| Story ID: | 148000 |
| Location: | JALALABAD AIRFIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | GRASS VALLEY, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 82nd CAB inducts troopers into NCO corps in Afghanistan, by SFC Whitney Houston, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT