US Army Central's Soldier spotlight - Trainer of professionals speaks improvement and moving forward

Photo By Staff Sgt. Victor Everhart | This week's U.S. Army Central spotlight is 1st Sgt. Nathaniel A. Campbell, senior enlisted adviser for Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, U.S. Army Central Command. (Photo by Sgt. Victor Everhart, USARCENT Public Affairs)  

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC, UNITED STATES

01.07.2015

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Central   

By Sgt. Victor Everhart

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. – First Sgt. Nathaniel A. Campbell is the senior enlisted adviser for Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, U.S. Army Central Command. He is responsible for advising the commander and enhancing the force by ensuring readiness of all Soldiers assigned to ARCENT. Campbell, a Houston native, has been the first sergeant for about 10 months and believes Soldiers are his biggest priority in the upcoming year.

“It’s my job and business to help and mentor junior Soldiers through tough times, as well as guide them in the direction that is most beneficial to them and their careers,” said Campbell.

Being the first sergeant at USARCENT is much different than other units in the Army. One of the prerequisites and requirements is prior experience as a first sergeant at a lower echelon command.

“I was a line unit first sergeant for two and a half years before reporting here,” said Campbell. “In a line unit, everything starts and stops with me. Here, I support USARCENT’s mission of ensuring the Soldiers who are accomplishing the mission are deployable.”

Caring for Soldiers is a leadership trait that should be integrated in the heart of any military leader and Campbell’s background instilled this trait from an early age. As the oldest grandchild in his family, he often had to help take care of his younger family members.

“When you care about a Soldier, you have to remember they are someone’s son, daughter, mother or father; it makes it much easier to do the right thing. I treat everyone as if they were my own, and improvement and progress are things we all want for our loved ones,” said Campbell about his leadership philosophy.

Part of this philosophy is his core belief that Soldiers should challenge themselves and constantly ask, how can I make this better?

“Leave it better than you found it. It may not be perfect or squeaky clean, but at the end of the day if you can leave something better than you found it then you’ve really accomplished something.”

• Date Taken: 01.07.2015
• Date Posted: 01.07.2015 15:18
• Story ID: 151489
• Location: SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC, US
• Hometown: HOUSTON, TX, US