First 2-15 FA female Soldier receives prestigious field artillery award

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st Class Anjie T. Oliver, motor transport operator assigned to Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment “Allons,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, became the first 2-15th FA female recipient of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara award during the battalion ball Friday at the Commons on Fort Drum.  

FORT DRUM, NY, UNITED STATES

12.05.2014

Courtesy Story

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

By 2nd Lt. Ryan Russell

FORT DRUM, N.Y.- Sgt. 1st Class Anjie T. Oliver, a motor transport operator assigned to Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment “Allons,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI) has driven more than 90,000 miles over her 13-year Army career.

On Dec. 5, she became the first female recipient to receive an award, not usually intended for transportation Soldiers.
The Honorable Order of Saint Barbara, named after the legend of Saint Barbara, recognizes individuals who have “demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character, displayed an outstanding degree of professional competence and contributed to the promotion of the field artillery in ways that stand out in the eyes of the recipient’s seniors, subordinates and peers alike.”

The 15th Field Artillery Regiment stood up June 1, 1917, in Syracuse. The regiment fought in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout its storied past, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment has never awarded the prestigious award to a female Soldier until this month.

Oliver is currently assigned as the distribution platoon sergeant for FSC. Over the course of more than 20 combined small-arms ranges, field training exercises and field artillery howitzer certifications, she has been responsible for the receipt, issue and turn-in of more than 90,000 rounds of small-arms and howitzer ammunition, worth more than $15 million.

She also is responsible for the transportation and distribution of more than 50,000 gallons of JP-8 fuel and hot Army chow to hungry “Allons” Soldiers. She recently served as the acting company first sergeant and currently serves as the unit’s Sexual Harassment Assault/Response and Prevention (SHARP) victim advocate and master resiliency trainer. Oliver also served as truck master for 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd BCT, during the brigade’s last deployment to Afghanistan.
Capt. Nathan Wike, Oliver’s company commander, recommended her for the award.

“Sgt. 1st Class Oliver is an outstanding noncommissioned officer,” he said. “She is an ideal platoon sergeant, and her service to the battalion makes her a natural choice for induction into the Honorable Order of St. Barbara.”

Her current job as the distribution platoon sergeant is vitally important because the battalion absolutely could not function without ammunition.

“We all have a mission that we must accomplish,” Oliver said. “As stated in the Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer, ‘my two basic responsibilities will always be the accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.’"

“I stress to my Soldiers daily that in field artillery the mission starts with us and that the lives of our Soldiers depend on us by having the correct amount of ammunition at the right place and at the right time,” she added.

• Date Taken: 12.05.2014
• Date Posted: 12.12.2014 18:35
• Story ID: 150240
• Location: FORT DRUM, NY, US
• Hometown: JACKSON, AL, US